Children's play

Augmented Biofeedback Training with Physical Therapy Improves Visual-Motor Integration, Visual Perception, and Motor Coordination in Children with Spastic Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Randomised Control Trial

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of combining augmented biofeedback training and standard therapy for improving visual-motor integration (VMI), visual perception (VP), and motor coordination (MC) in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).Methods: Participants were 45 children, 5-8 years of age, with spastic hemiplegic CP. They were randomized into three groups: group A followed a 3-month specially designed program physical therapy intervention to facilitate VMI and VP. Group B received augmented biofeedback training. Group C received augmented biofeedback training and the physical therapy program provided to group A. The treatment sessions lasted 60 min, three times a week for three months. The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of VMI and its supplemental tests were used to evaluate the children before and after the program.Results: After a 3-month treatment, standard scores and age equivalent scores for VMI, VP, and MC were significantly higher in group C compared with group A.Conclusion: The combination of augmented biofeedback and physical therapy could be used to improve VMI, VP, and MC in children with spastic hemiplegic CP.

Feasibility of gestural feedback treatment for upper extremity movement in children with cerebral palsy

External feedback of performance is an important component of therapy, especially for children with impairments due to cerebral palsy because they lack intrinsic experience of "good movements" to compare effort and determine performance outcomes. A robotic therapy system was developed to provide feedback for specific upper extremity movements (gestures) which are therapeutically desirable. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in forearm supination/pronation or wrist extension/flexion motion following conventional therapy and gestural robotic feedback therapy intervention. Six subjects with cerebral palsy (ages 5-18, GMFCS level IV--three subjects, level III--one subject, and level I--two subjects) participated in a blinded crossover design study of conventional and robotic feedback therapy targeting either forearm supination or wrist extension. Functional upper extremity motion at baseline and following conventional and robotic feedback therapy interventions were obtained using a motion capture system by personnel blinded to the intervention order. All activities were approved by IRB. Use of the robotic feedback system did result in slightly increased movement in the targeted gesture without change in untargeted motions. Data also suggest a decrease in both agonist and antagonist motion following conventional therapy intervention. Results suggest improved motion when robotic feedback therapy intervention precedes conventional therapy intervention. Robotic feedback therapy is no different than conventional therapy to improve supination or wrist extension function in upper extremity impairments of children with cerebral palsy when changes were considered as aggregate data. In this very small group of diverse patients, individual subject results suggested that intervention order could be responsible for obscuring differences due to intervention type. Outcomes from several individual subjects suggest that results could be different given a more homogeneous group of subjects which future studies should be considered to ultimately determine efficacy of the robotic feedback therapy. Future studies should also address efficacy in other neuromuscular patient populations.