Electrical Stimulation In Cerebral Palsy

Children and adults with cerebral palsy may have one or more of a variety of movement disorders and primary involvement of both lower limbs, one side of the body or all of the body including the muscles of speech and respiration. Because of the diversity of motor control in cerebral palsy [CP], general scales of functional ability have been developed to improve communication among medical caregivers. It is important, however, that any therapy is evaluated according to the specific functional changes in each individual with cerebral palsy. Interpretation of the literature can be difficult because researchers often have used a general, categorical scale to evaluate the significance of their intervention. For example, if the child with CP is able to walk without crutches or a walker before intervention, such as electrical stimulation, and he still walks without ambulatory aids after intervention, there is no change on the categorical scale. More specific measures might reveal that after ES the child walked with a more even stride pattern, took longer steps, maintained a more normal walking speed, used less energy to walk a measurable distance and fell down fewer times each day. These changes would not be noted unless more specific measurements were made by the investigators.