Children diagnosed with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy

Typically developing children

The Pediatric Balance Scale assesses functional balance in three categories: self-care, mobility and social function, using 14 items. Each item is scored from 0 (indicating low function) to 4 (indicating highest function), with a maximum score of 56 points. A higher score indicates better balance.

The TCSM was used to assess seated trunk balance and consisted of 15 items. Each item was scored from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating inability to perform the task and 3 indicating the full performance of the item. A high score indicated good trunk control

The children were asked to walk at a normal pace, without running, and the distance they walked for 2 minutes was recorded.

The children were seated with their feet in full contact with the floor, in a chair with back support only, and with their hip and knee joints at 90 degrees. On the start command, they were asked to walk 3 metres to the wall at a pace they felt comfortable with and then sit back down in the chair.

The muscle tone which is a biomechanical property of the muscles evaluated with a portable hand-held myotonometer. This myotonometer (MyotonPRO - Tallinn, Estonia) is non-invasive and provides a quantitative assessment of a muscle's biomechanical properties. The MyotonPRO applies a short-intensity mechanical impulse on the skin overlying the muscle or facia. The tissue's response then generates a signal that is recorded, and an internal software program produces an acceleration graph.