Qualitative analysis of therapeutic motor intervention programmes for children with cerebral palsy: an update

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of therapeutic motor interventions for children with or at risk for cerebral palsy (CP), examining 50 studies covering the period from 1990 to 2001. The purpose was to review noticeable changes in the scientific quality of the studies and to highlight trends and changes in the nature of the evaluated programmes. Our results were compared with those of Vermeer and Bakx (1990) who reviewed the period from 1980 to 1989. It was concluded that fundamental research with adequate methodology was applied more often in the study period than in the period reviewed by Vermeer and Bakx. However, these developments did not lead to a substantial improvement in the scientific foundation of the interventions under study. Single case studies, combined with efforts to develop measures specifically for children with CP and with high sensitivity, might make more valuable contributions to the scientific justification of therapeutic interventions.

The effectiveness of task‐oriented intervention and trunk restraint on upper limb movement quality in children with cerebral palsy

“…Five assessment periods were three baseline assessments at weeks 1, 3, and 5; one immediate postintervention assessment at week 11; and one 3‐month follow‐up assessment at week 23. Upper limb impairment and function were tested with one primary and five secondary clinical evaluations as well as kinematic analysis of reach‐to‐grasp tasks, which assessed movement quality using measures sensitive to changes in movement pattern 16 . Children were screened for inclusion/exclusion criteria and randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups consisting of impairment and task‐oriented upper limb training with or without trunk restraint.…”

Effects of hippotherapy and therapeutic horseback riding on postural control or balance in children with cerebral palsy: a meta-analysis

“…Various approaches exist for improving postural control and balance, including neurodevelopmental treatment which is classified as a neurophysiological or neuromaturational therapeutic approach, as are Vojta therapy, Temple Fay, the Rood and Kabat methods, and sensory integration 9–11 . Newer approaches, such as the ecological and dynamical system approaches, propose that development of motor skills and coordination occurs as the result of multifaceted interactions that take place in the context of performing a specific task 10,11 . Other frequently evaluated therapeutic methods are conductive education and biofeedback with a central role for motor learning theories 11 .…”

“…Newer approaches, such as the ecological and dynamical system approaches, propose that development of motor skills and coordination occurs as the result of multifaceted interactions that take place in the context of performing a specific task 10,11 . Other frequently evaluated therapeutic methods are conductive education and biofeedback with a central role for motor learning theories 11 . Hippotherapy is also one of these approaches in which equine movement is used for its therapeutic effect 12 …”

Randomized Controlled Trial Quality in Pediatric Physical Therapy

“…These authors, however, assessed a far smaller number of articles than Moseley et al (2011). Previously, poor methodological quality was reported for RCTs of physical therapy interventions for cerebral palsy (Anttila et al, 2006;Siebes, Wijnroks, & Vermeer, 2002). Our results discourage common beliefs that performing high-quality experimental research in the PPT field is more difficult than in other fields of physical therapy since the increase over time of both the quality and the number of published RCTs in PPT appears to be similar to the increase found in the general physical therapy field.…”