Impact of Universal Exercise Unit On Upper Limb Performance in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy: a randomized control study
Keywords:
hemiplegia cerebral palsy, muscle strength, Universal Exercise Unit, radomized control trailAbstract
Background: Spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) mainly affects one side of the body, particularly the upper extremity and distal muscles, demonstrating limited hand function. There was a positive correlation between strength in the upper extremities and hands and the capacity to use one or both unimanual and bimanual capabilities. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a Universal Exercise Unit strengthening program upon children suffering from spastic hemiplegia's upper extremity strength results.
Methods: Forty children (male and female) with hemiplegia CP and ages 5 to 9 participated in this randomized controlled trial research. The children were chosen from the Outpatient Clinic of the Faculty of Physical Therapy at Cairo University for a 3-month period. Based on their scores on the Gross Motor Function Classification System as well as the Manual Ability Classification System, subjects were categorized as either Level I or II. The subjects were distributed into two equivalent groups (n = 20). Group (A) had traditional physiotherapy, while group (B) were given strengthening exercises according to the Universal Exercise Unit along with traditional physiotherapy. The Quality of Upper Extremity Skill Test was used to evaluate the function of the upper limbs both before and after the intervention.
Results: Statistical analysis of the post-treatment mean values showed that Group B demonstrated significantly greater improvement (52.50 ± 3.07) compared to Group A (46.15 ± 2.06).
The mean difference between groups was 6.35.(p = 0.001)
Conclusion: The integration of strengthening exercises using the Universal Exercise Unit into conventional physical therapy significantly enhances upper limb strength in children with hemiplegia CP. These findings support the incorporation of Universal Exercise Unit-based interventions in pediatric neurorehabilitation programs targeting upper limb function.
