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Dissertation
Motor control of a functional reaching task in children with cerebral palsy and children with typical development: a comparison of electromyographic and kinetic measurements
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University
May 1999
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00007402
Abstract
Many children with cerebral palsy (CP) have underlying impairments in postural control. The evaluation of these impairments includes both laboratory types of measures (kinetic and electromyographic [EMG]) and clinical measures of functional balance and mobility. The reliability of the laboratory measures has not been evaluated in children or during functional tasks. The purposes of the present study are to: (1) evaluate the reliability of kinetic and EMG measurements during a functional reaching task, (2) compare kinetic and EMG measures with clinical measures of functional balance and mobility, and (3) compare and contrast children with CP to children with typical development (TD). While standing on a force plate, an internally generated postural perturbation was given by having the children reach forward to touch a target placed 120% of their arm's length away. The EMG data were categorized into nine consolidated motor coordination patterns (cMCPs) based on the sequence of muscle activations. The clinical measures used were: the Timed Up and Down Stairs, the Timed Up and Go, the Functional Reach Test and the Timed One Legged Stance. The major findings of the study were good test-retest reliability of kinetic measures and poor test-retest reliability of cMCPs. The association between kinetic measures and clinical measures of mobility were mainly moderate. Consolidated MCPs during the late retest trials were shown to have moderate correlations with the Timed Up and Down stairs, Timed Up and Go and Timed One Legged stance (Spearman rank correlations of 0.57, 0.59 and -0.56 respectively). Consolidated MCPs were not significantly correlated with the functional reach test. Because the cMCP test-retest reliability was low, there is little assurance that these correlations were not due to chance. Between group differences were shown for the cMCPs used, the first postural muscle used (increased variability in children with CP) and anticipatory postural muscle activity (decreased in children with CP). The children with TD demonstrated correlations between the mode of the rank ordered cMCPs and anterior-posterior kinetic measures. The children with CP demonstrated an association between the mode of the rank ordered cMCPs and medial-lateral COP measures. Overall, it appears that these two groups of children may be using different mechanisms to maintain postural control during a standing reach task. In addition, kinetic and EMG measures provide different perspectives of the motor control of posture. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
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Details
- Title
- Motor control of a functional reaching task in children with cerebral palsy and children with typical development
- Creators
- Christopher Alan Zaino
- Contributors
- Sarah L. Westcott (Advisor) - Drexel University, Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University (1993-1996, 1998-2002)
- Awarding Institution
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xvi, 216 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University (1993-1996, 1998-2002); School of Health Professions (1998-2000); Rehabilitation Sciences/Physical Therapy [Historical]
- Other Identifier
- 991021888732104721