Use of techniques to increase flexibility and equilibrium in adolescents with cerebral palsy: report of three case studies

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the tests and pediatric treatment of motor-independent spastic cerebral palsy to increase lower-limbs flexibility and equilibrium time. Three subjects were selected for the experiment: a twelve-year-old boy with spastic diplegia, a thirteen-year-old boy with right spastic hemiplegia and a ten-year-old girl with left spastic hemiplegia. The evaluation methodology consisted of sit-and-reach test, goniometry and equilibrium test. The treatment procedure consisted of two weekly individual 30-minute sessions covering a period of 16 weeks. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation method was used to increase lower-limbs flexibility and miniboard jumping was used to stimulate proprioceptive and vestibular equilibrium. The results showed a flexibility gain through sit-and-reach test of 30% for subject 1, 40% for subject 2 and 40% for subject 3, and equilibrium time gain was of 160% for subject 1, 100% for subject 2 and 500% for subject 3