Rehabilitation Interventions for Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Context: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement problems that do not worsen over time. They cause physical disability mainly in areas of body movement. It is caused by damage to the motor control centers of developing brain. Management of a child with CP to optimize functional abilities, typically includes the input of many disciplines, including occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT) and orthotic treatment. The main aim of this review was to compare the effects of most common rehabilitation intervention on CP. Evidence Acquisition: This systematic review was conducted on published papers that studied rehabilitation interventions approaches for children with CP. A literature search was performed using PubMed, SCOPUS and Google Scholar on papers published from January 1990 to October 2014. Results: From 125 articles related to rehabilitation interventions for children with Cerebral palsy, 36 articles met the inclusion criteria. Conclusions: The efficacy of rehabilitation interventions for children with CP is still inconclusive. Functional ability and social participation should be the main outcome measures in evaluating rehabilitation efficacy.

State of the Evidence Traffic Lights 2019: Systematic Review of Interventions for Preventing and Treating Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…If the goal is to improve functional mobility: a pharmacological agent to reduce background spasticity (green light) [185] might make it easier to learn to move. Similarly, increasing lower limb muscle strength via strength training (green light) may improve related strength and endurance [151,152], but principally targeted functional mobility training intervention will be required to establish an improvement in functional mobility (green light) [123,127]. In all likelihood, the outcomes will be better if a combination of interventions are used.…”

Therapeutic interventions for trunk and improvement of posture in children with cerebral palsy: a review of the literature

“…Abnormal muscles tone 72 Weakness 73 Spasticity 72 Impaired motor control 73 Rigidity 72 Poor 73 Hypotonia 7 2 Contracture 73 Involuntary movements 72 Skeletal Abnormalities (scoliosis) 73 Dystonia 72 Epilepsy 73 Athetosis 72 Poor trunk & posture stability 74 As for the quality of life (QoL), children with CP seem to face lower QoL because of the limited participation in social or leisure activities and the restrictions in mobility. 4 However, some findings show that children with CP have the potential to live and develop as all children of their age without any difficulty.…”

“…1 Owing to the development of the brain in the first two years of life, CP can occur at birth or in early childhood and insist throughout the individuals' life. 2 About 70%-80% cases are referred in the prenatal period and with no obvious cause. 1 CP is a non progressive motor impairment influencing the physical and often intellectual activity of the patients.…”

Mastery Motivation in Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) Based on Parental Report: Validity and Reliability of Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire in Persian

“…Motivation leads to more confidence, creativeness and tendency while participating in special tasks and activities ( 3 ). Cerebral palsy (CP) is the motor disability in early childhood and has a significant effect on musculoskeletal features such as posture and movement ( 4 ) Children’s motivation especially in children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy can affect rehabilitation programs and functional abilities ( 3 , 5 ).…”