Electromyography-Triggered Electrical Muscle Stimulation for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to pilot procedures and measures for use in the assessment of the response of children with cerebral palsy (CP) to electromyography-triggered electrical muscle stimulation (EMC-EMS). Ten children, ages 51/2 to 16 years, who have spastic CP, participated in the study. Each received EMG-EMS to either the distal upper or lower extremities and a total body therapeutic exercise program. Gait, upper extremity function, range of motion (ROM), and overall motor development were assessed before and after eight weeks of treatment. Each child's posttest score was compared with his or her pretest score. The majority of the children accepted the EMG-EMS treatment and showed improvements in general motor function. When the improvements that each child made were analyzed according to the site of the EMG-EMS, both of the children receiving upper extremity stimulation showed more specific improvement in upper extremity ROM and function than did the seven children receiving lower extremity stimulation. All seven subjects in the lower extremity stimulation group showed positive changes in gait and lower extremity ROM measures, but this did not differ significantly from the improvements on these measures shown by the children in the upper extremity group. The use of EMG-EMS with children who have spastic CP may offer another approach to improve motor function. However, the results of this pilot study are inconclusive and suggest that a controlled study that compares therapeutic exercise alone to exercise with EMG-EMS is warranted.