Effectiveness of the Functional Hand Splint and Specific Tasks in the Domiciliary Environment Applied to Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

Effectiveness of the Functional Hand Splint and Specific Tasks in the Domiciliary Environment Applied to Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy. Randomized Clinical Trial

The main objective:

To determine the effectiveness of a treatment that combines the application of a functional upper limb orthosis together with a home-based program of specific tasks in children with unilateral cerebral palsy versus a home-based program of specific tasks in improving structure and function, activity and participation.

Hypothesis:

The application of a functional upper limb orthosis together with a home-based program of specific tasks in children with unilateral cerebral palsy results in a greater improvement in structure and function, activity and participation compared to the implementation of a home-based specific task program.

Randomized clinical trial with blinding of the evaluator and the person analyzing the data.

A home-based protocol of specific tasks will be performed in both groups and one of the groups will also receive a treatment with upper limb splinting. The assessment will be made by a single evaluator with 10 years of experience in the treatment of children with motor disabilities.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosis of unilateral cerebral palsy (hemiplegia-hemiparesis).
2. Ages between 5 and 12 years.
3. Levels I-III of the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS)
4. Levels I-III of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS)
5. Able to understand and respond to verbal instructions.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Cognitive impairment identified by the school report.
2. Hand orthopedic surgery in the last 6 months.
3. Neuropharmacological intervention in the last 6 months.
4. Allergy to upper limb orthosis material.
5. Affectation of the manual function not due to the neurological condition (trauma, burn ...).
6. Current treatments not compatible with the study.
7. Other significant neurological affections (crisis, severe visual impairment ...).