Quantifying Patient-Specific Changes in Neuromuscular Control in Cerebral Palsy

Completed

Brief Summary: Impaired neuromuscular control hinders movement for individuals with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. In this research, the investigators are developing new tools to quantify impaired neuromuscular control in cerebral palsy and evaluate changes after one of the most common treatments, orthopaedic surgery. The results from this research will empower clinicians to identify patient-specific factors that contribute to impaired movement and improve treatment and quality of life.

Detailed Description: The long-term goals of this research are to quantify patient-specific changes in neuromuscular control in order to optimize treatment planning and improve mobility for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). As a first step, the aims of this proposal are to evaluate neuromuscular control before and after one of the most common treatments for individuals with CP, orthopaedic surgery. The investigators will evaluate if patient-specific measures of neuromuscular control, based upon the framework of muscle synergies, can predict improvements in walking ability after surgery. Further, investigators will determine whether neuromuscular control changes after surgery and if these changes contribute to improvements in movement. To achieve these goal the investigators will implement and test new tools to quantify neuromuscular control which integrate clinical gait analysis and two computational techniques: synergy analysis and dynamic musculoskeletal simulation. This research will provide the foundation to use measures of altered neuromuscular control to inform treatment planning, develop alternative treatments, and improve mobility in CP and other neurologic disorders.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Diplegic cerebral palsy
Mild or Moderate Impairment, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) Levels I-III
Will receive follow-up care and physical therapy within the Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare system

Exclusion Criteria

Botulinum toxin injections, baclofen, or other similar treatments in the 3 months prior to pre-operative gait analysis

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Orthopaedic surgery	Single-event multilevel surgery	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Walk Dynamic Motor Control Index 6-months After Orthopaedic Surgery	6-months after individual's orthopaedic surgery	The Walk Dynamic Motor Control Index (Walk DMC) is a specific measurement calculated from electromyography during gait using nonnegative matrix factorization. A value of 100 indicates complexity of neuromuscular control similar to typically-developing peers and each 10 point deviation represents one standard deviation from typically-developing peers. Thus, a value of 80 would indicate that an individual's muscle coordination during gait is two standard deviations below the complexity of unimpaired individuals.
Change in Walk Dynamic Motor Control Index 1-year After Orthopaedic Surgery	1-year after individual's orthopaedic surgery	The Walk Dynamic Motor Control Index (Walk DMC) is a specific measurement calculated from electromyography during gait using nonnegative matrix factorization. A value of 100 indicates complexity of neuromuscular control similar to typically-developing peers and each 10 point deviation represents one standard deviation from typically-developing peers. Thus, a value of 80 would indicate that an individual's muscle coordination during gait is two standard deviations below the complexity of unimpaired individuals.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Gait Deviation Index 6-months After Orthopaedic Surgery	6-months after individual's orthopaedic surgery	The Gait Deviation Index is a specific measurement which uses kinematics measured from instrumented gait analysis to compare an individual's gait pattern to typically-developing controls. A value of 100 indicates kinematics similar to unimpaired individuals while each 10 point deviation represents one standard deviation from unimpaired gait. Thus, a value of 80 would indicate that an individual's gait kinematics are on average two standard deviations from unimpaired gait.
Change in Gait Deviation Index 1-year After Orthopaedic Surgery	1-year after individual's orthopaedic surgery	The Gait Deviation Index is a specific measurement which uses kinematics measured from instrumented gait analysis to compare an individual's gait pattern to typically-developing controls. A value of 100 indicates kinematics similar to unimpaired individuals while each 10 point deviation represents one standard deviation from unimpaired gait. Thus, a value of 80 would indicate that an individual's gait kinematics are on average two standard deviations from unimpaired gait.