Myofascial Structural Integration: a Promising Complementary Therapy for Young Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Increasing evidence suggests that structural changes within muscle and surrounding tissues are associated with creating and/or increasing muscle stiffness and resistance to stretch in spastic cerebral palsy (CP). The goal of this preliminary study was to determine whether Myofascial Structural Integration, a specific, complementary, deep tissue manipulation technique designed to reorganize muscle and surrounding soft tissue, would improve motor function in young children with spastic CP. In an randomized cross-over design, we assessed motor function using established measurement techniques at baseline and after the treatment and control conditions in 8 children with spastic CP, aged 2 to 7 years. The average change for the group after therapy was greater than the change after the control condition. Results showed major improvements in 6 children after the therapy; 3 of the children also showed improvements after the control phase. Myofascial Structural Integration holds promise as a novel complementary treatment for spastic CP.