Iqra Mannan, Asif Javed, Farjad Afzal, Bilal Ahmad, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Arif Ali Rana.
Effects of functional strength training using universal exercise unit on spasticity of lower extremities among children with cerebral palsy; a quasi-experimental study.
Healer J Physiotherap Rehab Jan ;3(8):756-61.

Background: Cerebral palsy is a non-reversible disorder of movement and posture. Its incidence is very high globally with 2 to 2.5 per 1000 live births. In Pakistan, spastic type of cerebral palsy is most common and major reason for disability among children. Objective: To find out the effects of functional strength training in a universal exercise unit on spasticity of lower extremities among children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted from July to December 2020 at Khawaja Arshad Hospital, Sargodha, Pakistan on 15 spastic diaplegic children with cerebral palsy that were collected by simple purposive sampling. A baseline measurement was done by using the Modified Ashworth Scale. Intervention includes two sessions of universal exercise unit on alternate days with functional strength training exercises in between. A specially designed treatment approach was given in the universal exercise unit for 8 consecutive weeks after that; post-treatment assessment was done. Data was analyzed by way of the usage of SPSS version 21 and Wilcoxon signed rank test was used. Results: The study comprised 15 participants, where 10 (66.6%) were male and 5(33.3%) were female. About 12 (80%) were of age <5 and 3(20%) years. In this study, the Modified Ashworth scale is used to assess any changes in the spasticity of children who were having treatment sessions in a universal exercise unit. The mean spasticity score was 3.4 +- 0.5 and 1.46 +- 0.99 pretest posttest respectively. In the results mentioned, there is a clinical significance of 0.001 that showed that there is a significant difference in spasticity pre and post-treatment. Results were taken by applying the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Conclusion: Universal exercise unit has positive effects on lower extremity functional outcomes among children with cerebral palsy. It may decrease the spasticity of joints in the lower extremity so there is a need for more studies to be done.

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