The Effect of Targeted Movement Interventions on Motor Health and Balance Indices in Children with Spastic Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

Introduction and purpose: Hemiplegic cerebral palsy, resulting from brain damage in childhood, leads to muscle weakness, reduced range of motion, balance impairments, and difficulty in daily activities. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) exercises on selected physical fitness and motor performance indices in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 children (aged 10-12 years) diagnosed with cerebral palsy were selected based on convenience sampling and subsequently randomly assigned to either a control or an exercise group. The exercise program comprised eight weeks, with three 90-minute sessions per week. Prior to and following the eight-week intervention, height, weight, range of motion, spasticity levels, gait velocity, and balance were assessed using SPSS software (version 24). The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to examine the normality of the data. Analysis of covariance and paired t-tests were used to examine between-group and within-group differences for normally distributed data, while the Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used for non-normally distributed data. Results: The results showed a decrease in elbow (P=0.01) and wrist spasticity (P=0.03), improvement in functional balance (P=0.001), speed (P=0.001), range of motion of the elbow (P=0.001) and wrist (P=0.001). The training group showed a significant improvement, compared to the control group in the variables of elbow spasticity (P=0.01), functional balance (P=0.001), speed (P=0.04), range of motion of the elbow (P=0.001) and wrist (P=0.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that DNS exercises improve motor function and reduce sedentary behavior in children with hemiplegia. Therefore, this exercise program is recommended for therapists working with these patients.