Effects of sensory cues on dynamic trunk control in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of evidence whether the combined visual and verbal cues could improve dynamic trunk control in the sitting position in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP).

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the immediate effects of visual, verbal, and combined visual and verbal cues on dynamic trunk control in the sitting position in children with and without SDCP.

Methods

Twenty children with SDCP and 20 typically developing (TD) children aged eight to 12 years in sitting positions maneuvered their trunks to lean forward, backward, to the left, and to the right under conditions of no sensory cues, visual cues, verbal cues, and combined visual and verbal cues. Dynamic trunk control in the sitting position was assessed using the center of force (CoF) trajectory and limit of stability (LOS).

RESULTS

Verbal cues and combined visual and verbal cues could improve CoF trajectories in the forward, backward, and leftward directions in TD children and children with SDCP. Combined visual and verbal cues could improve the LOS in both groups.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence that combined visual and verbal cues are more effective at enhancing dynamic trunk control than either visual or verbal cues alone in TD children and children with SDCP.