Development and clinical application of weight-adjustable suit for children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy

Abstract

Objective To explore the development and clinical effect of weight-adjustable suit for children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Methods Twenty-six cerebral-palsy children with involuntary movement admitted to the Third Hospital Affiliated to Jiamusi University from March to October 2016 were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, 13 cases in each group.The control group was treated with routine rehabilitation trai-ning.The observation group was put on adjustable heavy clothes besides conventional rehabilitation.Before and after treatment, children′s functional independence and gross motor function were assessed and compared by using Wee Functional Independence Measure (Wee-FIM) and Gross Motor Function Rating Scale (GMFM-88). Results After treatment the Wee-FIM score of the control group was (43.24±5.58), the GMFM score was (61.81±9.46), the Wee-FIM score of the observation group was (50.21±6.03), and the GMFM score was (65.73±10.17). There were significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05), while the scores of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group, and the difference was significant (t=2.582, 2.346, all P<0.05). Conclusions The adjustable heavy suit can effectively improve the functional independence and gross motor function of cerebral palsy children with involuntary movement and their comprehensive ability, and it is worth trying clinically. Key words: Cerebral palsy; Athetoid; Weight-adjustable heavy suit; Functional independence; Gross motor function