earticle

영어

In spastic diplegia, the unstable control of head and trunk becomes one of major factors to make optimal posture and balance during daily activities, thereby leading to the lack of postural adjustment in sustainedly changing environmental conditions. This study aimed to illustrate the detailed procedure of visiuoperceptual training with head control, and report its outcomes. A subject was 8-year old female who was diagnosed as cerebral palsy of spastic diplegia, associated with periventricular leukomalacia. Specific protocol for visuopercetual training with head control was used to improve her physical function for a period of 8 week, which consisted of an elongation of tense neck muscles, scapular mobilization, co-contraction of trunk muscles, and visuoperceptual training exploring numbers and putting puzzles. Outcome measures included a Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT), and measurements were performed at baseline and after the intervention. After the 8-week intervention, Sub-items of the GMFM improved by a range of 0-20%, with an increase of 5% in total score. in addition, sub-scales of the JHFT improved by a range of 1-158 sec for nondominant hand and by a range of 2-9 sec for dominant hand. these findings suggest that visiuoperceptual training with head control might be beneficially used to enhance physical function of children with spastic diplegia.