Comparison of body segmental kinematic characteristics between children with cerebral palsy performing sit-to-stand with and without a walker

Abstract

The study investigated how the subjects, eighteen children with spastic diplegia aged 7 to14 years, attained sit-to-stand (STS). The children were divided into 3 groups: 1) those who could attain STS independently (I-STS), 2) those who could not attain STS independently (D-STS), and 3) subjects from the D-STS group who could successfully STS with the walker (W-STS). The results showed that I-STS had more mean maximum horizontal location of the upper body and knee than the hip. All body segments of D-STS followed the same model as the I-STS group, but they moved with less magnitude than I-STS. W-STS presented both pattern and magnitudes relatively similar to I-STS. Furthermore, I-STS showed the highest mean maximum horizontal velocities of body segments, when compared with the other STS conditions. W-STS performed the mean maximum horizontal velocities of all selected segments close to D-STS did.