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

Background: Impairment of upper extremity functions of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy could affect their activities of daily living. Purpose: To demonstrate the effect of online-based home physical therapy program on the participation of children in self-care activities and hand grasping skills, as well as range of motion of wrist extension and forearm supination of the affected upper extremity, following botulinum toxin A injection. Methods: Thirty children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy with age ranged from 5 to 8 years participated in this study. They were classified into two groups of equal number. Group (A) received an online-based home physical therapy program on the New Vision Organization website. Group (B) received a conventional, photos-based home physical therapy program. Children in both groups received three sessions of physical therapy program / week at the clinic for three successive months. Pre-treatment as well as post-treatment evaluation was performed for the self-care activities using Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, hand grasp using Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test and range of motion of wrist extension and forearm supination using an electronic digital goniometer. Results: Significant improvement of all measured variables of both groups was found. When comparing the post- treatment results of the two groups, there was significant difference in favor of study group regarding the participation of the children in self-care activities and grasping skills, while there was non-significant difference regarding the range of motion of wrist extension and forearm supination

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