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

Background: Impaired muscle strength and functional mobility affecting the functional performance of daily living activity are common problems facing children with cerebral palsy. Purpose: The purpose of this comparative study was to compare between the effect of Thera Suit and Spider cage on improving muscle strength and functional mobility in children with spastic diaplegia. Subjects and procedures: Fifty-three children with spastic diaplegia of both sexes ranged in age from five to eight years participated in this study, they were selected from the Outpatient Clinic of Hadaek Helwan hospital. They were randomly assigned into two study groups; A and B. Group A included 27 children who were treated by therapeutic exercise program with Thera Suit while, group B involved 26 children who received the same exercise program in Spider cage. The treatment was conducted three times per week for one and half hour per session over twelve consecutive weeks. Muscle strength of quadriceps and hamstring and functional mobility were assessed before and after treatment by hand-held dynamometer and mobility questionnaire (MobQuest) respectively.Results:There was statistically a significant increase in the quadriceps, hamstring force and MobQuest score in both groups post treatment while, there were statistically insignificant differences of all measured variables between both groups (p> 0.05) although children in group A showed slightly more improvement clinically

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