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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ptj.20090161v1 90/7/986    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Prosser, L. A. Articles by Lauer, R. T. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Prosser, L. A. Articles by Lauer, R. T. Related Collections Gait Disorders Kinesiology/Biomechanics Cerebral Palsy Cerebral Palsy (Pediatrics) Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Trunk and Hip Muscle Activation Patterns Are Different During Walking in Young Children With and Without Cerebral Palsy

L.A. Prosser, PT, PhD, is Postdoctoral Fellow, Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bldg 10-CRC, 1-1469, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda MD 20892 (USA).
S.C.K. Lee, PT, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy Department, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, and Research Associate, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A.F. VanSant, PT, PhD, FAPTA, is Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
M.F. Barbe, PhD, is Professor, Departments of Physical Therapy and Anatomy and Cell Biology, Temple University.
R.T. Lauer, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Departments of Physical Therapy and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Temple University.

Address all correspondence to Dr Prosser at: laura.prosser{at}nih.gov.

Background: Poor control of postural muscles is a primary impairment in people with cerebral palsy (CP).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the timing characteristics of trunk and hip muscle activity during walking in young children with CP compared with children with typical development (TD).

Methods: Thirty-one children (16 with TD, 15 with CP) with an average of 28.5 months of walking experience participated in this observational study. Electromyographic data were collected from 16 trunk and hip muscles as participants walked at a self-selected pace. A custom-written computer program determined onset and offset of activity. Activation and coactivation data were analyzed for group differences.

Results: The children with CP had greater total activation and coactivation for all muscles except the external oblique muscle and differences in the timing of activation for all muscles compared with the TD group. The implications of the observed muscle activation patterns are discussed in reference to existing postural control literature.

Limitations: The potential influence of recording activity from adjacent deep trunk muscles is discussed, as well as the influence of the use of an assistive device by some children with CP.

Conclusions: Young children with CP demonstrate excessive, nonreciprocal trunk and hip muscle activation during walking compared with children with TD. Future studies should investigate the efficacy of treatments to reduce excessive muscle activity and improve coordination of postural muscles in CP.

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This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. C. Wagenaar Invited Commentary Physical Therapy, July 1, 2010; 90(7): 997 - 999. [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Prosser, S. C. K. Lee, A. F. VanSant, and R. T. Lauer Author Response Physical Therapy, July 1, 2010; 90(7): 999 - 1000. [Full Text] [PDF]