Abstract
Purpose: No instrument exists that measures functional strength in both lower and upper extremities in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore, the functional strength measurement (FSM) was tested for feasibility, test-retest reliability and validity in CP. Methods: Thirty-seven children with CP (aged 4-10 years, Gross Motor Function Classification System I and II) participated. The most common compensations for CP were described; new item descriptions were standardized, and one item was removed. Test-retest reliability was examined. To measure convergent validity, correlations between the FSM-CP and isometric muscle strength measured with the handheld dynamometer (HHD) were determined. Results: Test-retest reliability was considered high for all items (intra-class correlation coefficient 0.79-0.95). Significant correlations between the HHD and FSM-CP ranged from r = 0.36 to 0.75. Conclusion: The FSM-CP is feasible, reliable, and valid to use in children with CP. The FSM-CP can be considered as a helpful tool in clinical practice of physical examination of children with CP.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 453-461 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Developmental Neurorehabilitation |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Oct 2019 |
Keywords
- Cerebral palsy
- children
- feasibility
- functional strength measurement
- reliability
- validity
- HAND-HELD DYNAMOMETRY
- YOUNG-CHILDREN
- MUSCLE STRENGTH
- MANUAL ABILITY
- IMPAIRMENTS
- SPASTICITY
- YOUTH
- CLASSIFICATION
- EXTREMITY
- BALANCE