Effect of the severity of manual impairment and hand dominance on anticipatory and compensatory postural adjustments during manual reaching in children with cerebral palsy

摘要

AimTo investigate the role of the severity of manual impairment and of hand dominance on postural sway during anticipatory [APA] and compensatory [CPA] postural adjustments in a seated manual reaching task performed by children with cerebral palsy (CP) and typical children (TC). MethodsWe tested 26 TC (mean age 9.5?±?2.1 years) and 29 children with CP (age 9.6?±?3 years) classified based on manual impairment levels as mild (Manual Ability Classification System [MACS] I; n?=?18) or moderate-to-severe (MACS II-III, n?=?11). Participants were instructed to reach towards a target using their dominant vs. non-dominant arm while sitting on a force-plate. Center of pressure (CoP) sway was analyzed during APA and CPA. ResultsFor all groups, using the non-dominant arm determined greater amplitude and velocity of CoP sway in CPA. Children with moderate-to-severe manual impairment showed greater sway during APA and CPA compared to mild impairment and TC groups. ConclusionMore severe manual impairment resulted in higher sway during the anticipatory and compensatory phases of the reaching task. Using the non-dominant arm resulted in greater compensatory adjustments during reaching.