The effects of static anti-pronation splint on spasticity, ROM, grip and pinch strength and affected hand function in spastic hemiplegic children

Cerebral palsy is a common cause of inability in childhood that effects on posture and motor development and leads in activity limitation. One of the difficulty of cerebral palsy is impairment in arm and hand function. Splints and orthosis are used to improve position, range of motion and hand function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of static anti-pronation splint on spasticity, range of motion, grip and pinch strength and function of affected hand of spastic hemiplegic children of 8-12 years old.
This is an interventional study. Twenty spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy children with 8 to 12 years old were selected through students who studied in physical disabled schools in Tehran city and had the inclusion criteria. Patients randomly divided into intervention and control group. Patients in intervention group used a static anti-pronation splint for two months, 6 hours daily. In this study the Jebsen Taylor test was used to evaluate hand function, the Modified Ashworth Scale was used to assess spasticity of wrist, forearm and elbow, ROM of wrist, forearm and elbow were measured with goniometer and grip and pinch strength were evaluated with MIE.
Results in intervention group showed a significant improvement in hand function (p0.05).
Information from present research shows that using static anti-pronation splint for 2 months ,6 hours a day, can be an effective method to improve hand function, wrist and forearm spasticity and range of motion, strength of grip and pinch in hemiplegic CP children.