Effect Of Structured Exercises For Achilles Tendon Tightness In Spastic Cerebral Palsy Children.

Abstract

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common disorder of posture and movement caused by a non-progressive injury to the developing brain. Based on the degree of brain lesion the child can have hemiplegia , spastic diplegia or even total cerebral palsy Achilles tendon spasticity, weakness, or contracture in these conditions may lead to gait abnormalities. Achilles tendon plays an important role in performing plantar flexion and dorsiflexion of the ankle. The objective of this study was to find out the effect of structured exercises for Achilles tendon tightness prevailing in spastic cerebral palsy children. A total 34 subjects was selected for the study. Inclusion and exclusion crieteria were used to select the children for the study. Children of ages between 2 to 6 years of both sex were also considered for the study. The subjects who were not included in the study were those not willing to participate, individual’s history of acute trauma or with any congenital musculoskeletal problems, previous surgery or pain in the lower limbs, Vision and hearing problems and Cardio-respiratory problems. Demographic data, assent and consent was taken from the child and their parents, respectively and the explanation of the study was given. Pre and post assessment was taken on the basis of Tardieu scale before and after 16 sessions of the treatment respectively. Each session was of 45 mins and was started with warm exercises and then functional exercises were carried out. Later evaluation and interpretation of the data was done. The study revealed that there was significant effect of structured exercises for Achilles tendon tightness in subjects with spastic cerebral palsy. The structured exercise for Achilles tendon tightness was very effective in improving the gait and strength of the spastic cerebral palsy children.