Abstract

KLEINER, Ana F. R. et al. Functional mobility in spastic cerebral palsy individuals according to the type and age. Rev. Port. Cien. Desp. [online]. 2008, vol.8, n.3, pp.406-413. ISSN 1645-0523.

Functional mobility refers to the ability to move independently in the environment. Spastic cerebral palsy individuals show mobility needs according with the type (diplegia, hemiplegia and tetraplegia). With the age advance, spastic cerebral palsy individuals show deterioration on gait kinematics’ parameters. The purpose of this study was to compare functional mobility among spastic cerebral palsy individuals according to the type and the age. Sixty eight individuals with spastic cerebral palsy, 30 with diplegia, 23 with hemiplegia and 15 with tetraplegia, participated in this study. They were also distributed in 3 age groups: children group (from 4 to 12 years old); young group (from 13 to 19 years old) and adult group (from 20 to 45 years old). The functional mobility was assessed by the Functional Mobility Scale. The spent time and the scale classification were treated by non-parametric ANOVA, by type and age group, in three distances: 5m, 50m, and 500m. The results did not reveal age group differences and they showed that spastic cerebral palsy individuals with hemiplegia had better results for all distances. The segmental involvement and motor repertoire affect the functional mobility.

Keywords : cerebral palsy; functional mobility; age groups; spasticity.

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