Effect of Electrical Stimulation With Functional Task Training on Balance and Motor Abilities in Children With Diplegia

Functional Task Training Combined With Electrical Stimulation on Balance and Motor Abilities in Children With Diplegia

The aims of the study are to:

1. Investigate the combined effect of functional task training with electrical stimulation of bilateral hip abductor muscles on balance in children with diplegia.
2. Investigate the combined effect of functional task training with electrical stimulation of bilateral hip abductor muscles on motor abilities in children with diplegia.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture. It is non-progressive lesion or abnormality of immature brain. The term cerebral refers to the brain and palsy refers to the loss or impairment of motor function.

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a subtype of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in which the stimulation assists functional and purposeful movements. This is achieved by applying electrical stimulation to muscles that, when they contract, produce a movement that can be used functionally.The FES is used to provide electrical stimulation via the peripheral nervous system to activate muscle contractions to assist functional activities when nervous or musculo-skeletal systems are damaged.The common applications of FES include strengthening muscle, reducing muscle spasticity, increasing range of motion, improving upper extremity function and walking speed.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Their ages will range from 7-11 years.
• Both genders will be included.
• Their degree of spasticity will range from 1 to 1+ according to Modified Ashworth Scale (Meseguer-Henarejos et al., 2018).
• Their motor function will be at level I & II according to Gross Motor Function --- -Classification system (Palisano et al., 2008).
• They will be understanding instructions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children will be excluded from the study if they have any of the following criteria:

Musculoskeletal fixed deformities in upper limb, lower limb or spine.

• Visual or hearing problems.
• Epilepsy.
• Botulinium toxin therapy or orthopedic surgery within the past 6months or within the study period.