Effect of strength training on hand function in children with hemiparesis / Sara Samir Mohamed Ali ; Supervised Faten Hassan Abdelaziem , Mohamed Abdelmoneim Alsobky

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

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of upper extremity repetitive strengthening exercises on upper extremity function in hemiparetic children. Randomized clinical trial. Thirty children (17 boys and 13 girls) with hemiparetic cerebral palsy whose age ranged from four to six years participated in this study. They were classified randomly into two groups of equal number; control group (fifteen children: ten boys, five girls) who received a designed physical therapy program which consists of neurodevelopmental techniques and study group (fifteen children: seven boys, eight girls) who received the same designed physical therapy program given to the control group in addition to the repetitive strengthening exercises for the affected upper limb. Isometric strength of the affected upper extremity using Lafayette hand held dynamometer and quality of upper extremity skills test were measured from both control and study groups before and after ten weeks of treatment. A significant improvement was recorded in the measured variables in the study group when comparing their pre and post treatment mean values of muscle strength and QUEST scores. From the obtained results of this study, it could be concluded that repetitive strengthening program is beneficial to improve upper extremity function and specially grasp function in hemiparetic cerebral palsied children

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