Effect of high intensity walking exercise on muscle fatigue and postural control in children with hemiplegia / Maha Ahmed Attia Mahmoud ; Supervised Amira Mohamed Eltohamy , Walaa Abdelhakim Abdelnabi , Marwa Elsayed Ahmed

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Growth and Development Disorders in Pediatrics

Objective : Postural control and muscle fatigue are one of the elementary causes of deteriorations in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of high intensity walking exercise on muscle fatigue and postural control in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Patients and methods: Thirty hemiplegic children of both sexes (17 boys and 13 girls) participated in this study with their mean ± SD ages, weights, and heights were 8.25 ± 1.77 years, 26.83 ± 5.77 kg, and 118.13 ± 7.45 cm respectively. They were selected at level I and II according to Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and the degree of spasticity ranged from 1 to 1+ according to Modified Ashworth Scale. Muscle fatigue of quadriceps and hamstring muscles were assessed by using isokinetic dynamometer while postural control was assessed by using pediatric reaching test before and after high intensity walking exercise. Results: The results showed that there were no significant differences in the fatigue index and peak torque of quadriceps and hamstring muscles (p = 0.33, p = 0.1) and (p = 0.52, p = 0.14) respectively, also no significant differences were found in the anterior and lateral reaching of postural control (p = 0.46 and p = 0.63) respectively between pre and post high intensity walking exercise. Conclusion: High intensity walking exercise is tolerated and doesn{u2019}t cause muscle fatigue or postural instability in children with hemiplegia. It may be helpful in the evaluation and treatment procedures for children with cerebral palsy

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