Abstract
Developmental motor impairment with lower limb spasticity most commonly corresponds to cerebral palsy of the spastic diplegia type. Here we describe a 4-year-old girl whose locomotor phenotype reflects early cortico-spinal lesion at the spinal level. This child has developmental spastic paraparesis secondary to D4–D8 cord compression. We analysed her gait using the ELITE optoelectronic system and compared it to that of six normal age-matched controls and six age-matched children with leucomalacic spastic diplegia. Gait characteristics of the patient included preservation of head orientation and arm swing similar to findings in normal controls and contrasting with children with spastic diplegia. She also had truncal instability and displayed lack of selectivity in lower limb movement as in spastic diplegia and in contrast with normal controls. This may reflect differences in locomotor control between developmental spasticity of cerebral and spinal origin. The latter might correspond to spinal palsy defined as abnormal movement and posture secondary to non-progressive pathological processes affecting the immature spinal cord.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.