None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Cerebral Palsy is a term that describes a group of primarily motor disorders. Spastic Hemiplegia is a common presentation of cerebral palsy where one side of the body is weaker and muscles are often tighter and more difficult to move. As such, walking can be affected as the foot "catches" on the floor when taking a step and can cause tripping or even falling over. The Walk Aide is a small device that is strapped to the leg just below the knee. It provides electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles that lift up the foot during walking thus preventing tripping and catching of the foot on the ground. The device is portable and can be worn where ever the child wishes to go. Our study aims to see what effects the Walk Aide might have on strength, ease of movement and balance whilst using the Walk Aide but also after using the Walk Aide to determine if the effects last even beyond the use of wearing the device.
Interventions
The application of functional electrical stimulation on children aged 5 to 18 years with cerebral palsy - spastic hemiplegia (Winters Gage and Hicks classification Type 1 and 2). Children will be required to wear a small portable device on their leg which will stimulate the ankle dorsiflexors during the swing phase of gait for a period of 6 weeks. Children will be expected to wear the device for at least 1 hour per day, 6 days a week throughout this 6 week intervention phase.
There are 3 phas
The application of functional electrical stimulation on children aged 5 to 18 years with cerebral palsy - spastic hemiplegia (Winters Gage and Hicks classification Type 1 and 2). Children will be required to wear a small portable device on their leg which will stimulate the ankle dorsiflexors during the swing phase of gait for a period of 6 weeks. Children will be expected to wear the device for at least 1 hour per day, 6 days a week throughout this 6 week intervention phase. There are 3 phases to this study as this is an ABA single subject design. The first phase is the preintervention phase which is 6 weeks in duration. During this phase, participants will be asked to continue with their usual regime. The next phase is the B- intervention phase which as described earlier is also 6 weeks. The final phase is the A - post intervention phase which will last up to 12 weeks. This phase will determine if there are any carry over effects from the intervention and if there are, how long they will last for. Assessments will occur weekly throughout the 3 phases with 2D gait video taken every 3 weeks.
Sponsors
The Centre for Cerebral Palsy
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
5 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Spastic Hemiplegia Children aged between 5 and 18 years Achieves full bilateral knee extension Has at least 5 degrees of ankle dorsiflexion on the affected side Dynamic popliteal angle no more than 45 degrees Able to follow instructions Willing to use the Walk Aide device for at least 1 hour a day, 6 days a week for 6 weeks.
Exclusion criteria
Orthopaedic lengthening to gastrocs/tendo achilles in the last 12 months History of Seizure Disorder
Outcome results
None listed