Chinese traditional medicine in the comprehensive rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy

It is relevant to search for new opportunities for comprehensive rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy in order to create highly effective rehabilitation programs based on the methods of Chinese traditional medicine. The purpose of the study: to increase the effectiveness of comprehensive rehabilitation of children with spastic forms of cerebral palsy by including traditional Chinese methods in the rehabilitation program. Methods: the study included 59 children with spastic forms of cerebral palsy. The average age was 2.9 ± 0.17 years. There were 30 girls (50.8%). In the main group, standard rehabilitation was used and additionally used methods of Chinese traditional medicine; in the comparison group there was only standard rehabilitation. To determine the effectiveness of complex medical rehabilitation, a modified Ashworth scale and a gross motor function scale (GMFCS) were used, and the adaptive potential of the circulatory system and the type of adaptive reactions were studied. Results. When comparing adaptive potential after rehabilitation, no statistically significant difference was obtained ( p =0.913). Stress reactions were not detected in any of the subgroups ( p =0.927). In the main group, a statistically significant decrease in muscle tone was revealed ( p =0.001), and improvement in motor functions according to the GMFCS scale was expressed ( p =0.04). Conclusion. The presence of positive dynamics of muscle tone in children with spastic forms of cerebral palsy allows us to conclude that the inclusion of methods of Chinese traditional medicine in comprehensive rehabilitation increases the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures.