How the Use of Ankle Foot Orhoses Affects Spinal Posture and Balance in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as an umbrella term used as a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture development due to damage to the infant or fetus brain . CP shows a wide range of motor impairments including spasticity, muscle weakness, postural control deficits, and balance and gait disorders. These multifaceted motor limitations significantly affect the functional capacity of children with CP, limiting their participation in daily activities and significantly reducing their overall quality of life.

Poor motor control, abnormal biomechanical alignment, poor muscle activation, impaired agonist-antagonist muscle balance and balance disorders are the most common motor disorders in CP. Therefore, orthoses are prescribed in addition to rehabilitation for prevention and correction of deformities, improvement of postural control parameters, maintenance of correct muscle lengths.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of AFO use on spinal posture, balance and lower extremity functional skills in CP.

In this study, 25 Syrian children under temporary protection with spastic type CP were included. After obtaining permission from Abant Izzet Baysal University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (2022/339), informed consent was obtained from the children under temporary protection and their parents who volunteered to participate in the study. Inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) being diagnosed with spastic type CP between the ages of 6-18, 2) GMFCS level I, II or III, 3) using AFO for at least 3 months. All children were familiar with their AFO's. Exclusion criteria:1) presence of rigid contracture in the trunk and lower extremities. Demographic characteristics of the children (age, body weight, height, gender) were recorded.

Functionalities of the children were classified according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). Spinal postures were evaluated with Spinal Mouse (SM), balance and lower extremity functional skills were evaluated with Paediatric Berg Balance Scale, Pediatric Functional Reach Test and Timed Up & Go Test. All these evaluations were repeated twice in children with AFO and barefoot. The evaluations were completed on two non-consecutive days. The results of both assessments were recorded and analysed.