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VESTIBULAR STIMULATION IN IMPROVING MOTOR PERFORMANCE OF SPASTIC CEREBRAL PALSY CHILDREN

Dr. Hira Anwar, Prof. Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Asim, Dr. Muhammad Tahir Aslam, Rizwana Ramzan, Muhammad Majid Kanwar, Dr. Urooj Malik, Dr. Ghulam Abbas, Dr. Sobia Javaid

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Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of vestibular apparatus stimulation in increasing the motor performance of children with spastic cerebral palsy.

Methodology: In this study 18 children were taken through non-probability purposive sampling technique and randomly assigned to experimental group and Control group. Gross Motor Classification System (GMFCS) has been used to classify functions of upper and lower extremities of all the subjects. Therapeutic intervention was conducted 4 times per week during 3 months. All subjects from experimental group were stimulated with vestibular stimulation through Swiss balls and swings for duration of 30 minutes in order to reduce spasticity. At the end of treatment session a second assessment of motor functions and abilities was conducted by using Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS).

Result: The significant P value is (0.00) for Gross Score in both experimental group and Control group . Since Group Statistics box revealed that the (Mean ± S.D) for pre and post in  experimental group  (-20.11 ±6.71)  and Control group  is (-4.03 ± 1.46)  and so we can conclude that there is  significant difference between  experimental group  and Control group  results with  significant improvement in Lying/Rolling with p-value 0.001, significant improvement in Sitting with p-value 0.002, significant improvement in Crawling/Kneeling with p-value 0.007*, significant improvement in Standing score with p-value 0.004.

Conclusion: We can conclude that vestibular stimulation along conservative physical therapy helps to improve Lying, Sitting and Standing in spastic cerebral palsy children. As considering comparison of means we can observe better results shown by experimental group .

Key Words: Vestibular apparatus, Postural reflexes, Vestibular apparatus stimulation, Postural tone, Gross Motor Function Classification Scale