Emara Hatem A, Sobh Eman, Almohammadi Raid Homoud, Alamri Emad Abdullah, Aljohani Marwan M A, Alhammad Ayman Abdullah
Physical Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physical Therapy for Growth and Developmental Disorders in Children and Its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
J Multidiscip Healthc. 2024 Oct 7;17:4645-4652. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S485973. eCollection 2024.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have limited postural control and functional ability. TheraTogs was reported to improve postural stability. However, studies involving the functional ability and quality of life are limited. We aimed to investigate the effects of TheraTogs use as an orthotic garment and strapping system on the balance and functional ability of children with spastic diplegic CP and if wearing TheraTogs improves their quality of life.
A total of 34 children (aged 5-8 years) with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy participated in this study. The control group received conventional physical therapy (CPT), whereas the study group received CPT in addition to wearing TheraTogs. Balance, lower limb strength, and functional abilities were examined using the Biodex balance system, 30-s chair rise test, and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-PEDI).
The measured parameters of postural stability significantly improved in both groups post-treatment (p<0.05). The study group showed significant improvement in balance and lower limb strength compared to the traditional physical therapy group (p < 0.05). Both groups showed significant improvement in functional skill mobility (0.001 and 0.01 for control and study groups respectively) and caregiver assistance mobility scores (p=0.001 and <0.001 for control and study groups respectively); however, there was no significant improvement in self-care ability with TheraTogs. The 30s sit-to-stand showed increased number of sit to stands in both groups post treatment (p=<0.001 for both groups) and the study group showed significant improvement compared to the control group (p=0.01).
The findings in this study suggest that both conventional physical therapy and TheraTogs are beneficial in improving balance and functional ability. TheraTogs could be utilized as a useful posture orthosis to help improve the balance and functional strength of children with spastic diplegic cerebral, palsy indicating improved quality of life.
脑性瘫痪（CP）患儿的姿势控制和功能能力有限。据报道，TheraTogs有助于改善姿势稳定性。然而，关于其对功能能力和生活质量影响的研究有限。我们旨在调查将TheraTogs用作矫形服装和绑扎系统对痉挛型双瘫CP患儿平衡和功能能力的影响，以及穿着TheraTogs是否能改善他们的生活质量。
共有34名年龄在5至8岁的痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿参与本研究。对照组接受传统物理治疗（CPT），而研究组除接受CPT外，还穿着TheraTogs。使用Biodex平衡系统、30秒椅子起立测试和儿童残疾评估量表（PEDI）对平衡、下肢力量和功能能力进行检查。
两组治疗后姿势稳定性的测量参数均有显著改善（p<0.05）。与传统物理治疗组相比，研究组在平衡和下肢力量方面有显著改善（p<0.05）。两组在功能技能移动性（对照组和研究组分别为0.001和0.01）和照顾者辅助移动性评分方面均有显著改善（对照组和研究组分别为p=0.001和<0.001）；然而，使用TheraTogs后自我护理能力没有显著改善。30秒坐立测试显示两组治疗后坐立次数均增加（两组p均=<0.001），且研究组与对照组相比有显著改善（p=0.01）。
本研究结果表明，传统物理治疗和TheraTogs都有助于改善平衡和功能能力。TheraTogs可用作一种有用的姿势矫形器，有助于改善痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿的平衡和功能力量，表明生活质量得到改善。
