Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Growth and Developmental Disorders in Pediatrics

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of calf muscle strengthening on standing function and posture in spastic diplegic cerebral palsied children. Thirty spastic diplegic children with age ranged from 2 to 4 years participated in this study. They were assigned randomly into two groups of equal numbers, control and study groups. Each patient of the two groups was evaluated before and after treatment by using standing dimension of GMFM-88, AutoCad 2007 software program for measuring knee and ankle joints angles in sagittal plane during standing, and ultrasonography for measuring calf muscle thickness before and after three successive months of application of the treatment programs. The control group received a selected physical therapy program for one hour per session. The study group received the same selected physical therapy program given to the control group for one hour in addition to strengthening exercises and electrical stimulation program for calf muscles of both lower limbs, three sessions per week for three successive months. The pre-treatment results revealed no significant difference in all measured variables (standing dimension score, knee and ankle angles and calf muscle thickness) between the two groups. While significant difference in all these variables between the two groups were recorded after the treatment period in favor of the study group. These results show the importance of strengthening the calf muscles in spastic diplegic children to improve standing posture and function

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