Dynamic monitoring of sitting posture for children with spastic cerebral palsy.

A dynamic postural monitoring technique was developed and implemented to determine the effects of a forward-inclined seat base on the sitting posture of both normal children and children with mild spastic cerebal palsy. With the seat base tilted forward there was a significant increase in the distance between the top of head and the seat base, and an increase in the normalized erector spinae muscle activity for both the normal and cerebral palsy subjects. This increase represents a longitudinal straightening of the spine and consequent reduction in kyphotic posture. Sitting stability was significantly lower for children with cerebral palsy than for the normals. Data from this study reveal that an approximately 10° anterior seat tilt may be beneficial for children with cerebral palsy, affecting spinal elongation, reducing dynamic curvatures, and improving sitting stability.