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Comparison of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and Manual Therapy in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Bladder Dysfunction
Neurogenic Bowel
Neurogenic Bladder
Cerebral Palsy
Bowel Dysfunction
Interventions
Other: Massage
Device: TENS
Registration Number
NCT05351138
Lead Sponsor
Bahçeşehir University
Brief Summary

There are many studies in the literature on healthy children with lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD), but there are limited number of studies in children with cerebral palsy (CP) with LUTD.

This study aim to contribute to the literature by examining the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and abdominal massage in the treatment of children with CP with LUTD and comparing the superiority of the two treatment methods to each other.

Detailed Description

CP represents a group of chronic, non-progressive motor disorders characterized by impaired voluntary movement resulting from prenatal developmental abnormalities or perinatal or postnatal central nervous system damage.

The location and extent of neurological damage are important in determining motor and mental disabilities and the severity of the disease. Children with CP can also be affected by other medical disorders such as seizures, mental retardation, hearing, vision and communication problems. The prevalence of CP is approximately 2-3 per 1000 live births. Dysfunctional bowel and urinary dysfunction problems can often accompany CP due to motor, mental, cognitive, sensory and other neurological disorders. Severe motor disorders and/or additional cognitive deficits lead to the development of neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms. Accoring the data obtained during the outpatient clinic visits, it was determined that most of the children with CP had LUTD complaints such as incontinence, sense of urgency, difficulty urinating, urinary retention and urinary tract infections. These urological problems affect approximately one-third of children with CP, and the prevalence of dysfunctional voiding symptoms such as pollakisuria, incontinence or urinary tract infections is estimated to be more than 30% in the population.

TENS therapy is classified as a neuromodulation therapy. In the last few years, it has been shown in the literature TENS gives positive results in the treatment of urinary symptoms.

Abdominal massage, which is one of the manual therapy techniques; the anterior abdominal wall reduces abdominal muscle tension, increases local circulation, facilitates digestion and stimulates gastric acid secretion, stimulates colonic movements by providing peristaltic stimulation. It is a classical massage method that includes clockwise manual movements over the area where the colon is located. In abdominal massage, by manually applying pressure from the anterior abdominal wall, the digestive organs are compressed between the fingers and the posterior abdominal wall and peristaltic stimulation is created. Hence, stool is pushed from the colon into the rectum. In addition, abdominal massage reduces the severity of constipation symptoms by reducing abdominal bloating and treating trigger points in the abdominal muscles.

This study aim to contribute to the literature by examining the effectiveness of TENS and abdominal massage in the treatment of children with CP with LUTD and comparing the superiority of the two treatment methods to each other.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
54
Inclusion Criteria
  • Being between the ages of 5-18
  • Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy
  • Having one of the Gross Motor Function Classification System I, II, III and IV grades
  • Having a complaint of urinary incontinence
Exclusion Criteria
  • Being younger than 5 years old
  • Being level V according to Gross Motor Function Classification System
  • Having uncontrolled epileptic seizures
  • Anatomical changes in the urinary system
  • Having cognitive disability

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Masaj GroupMassageMassage intervention will be done in the form of massage practise to the abdominal region, 2 sessions of 20 minutes per week.
TENS GroupTENSTranscutaneus electric nerve stimulation intervention will be done for a total of 12 weeks, 2 sessions of 20 minutes per week.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Voiding Disorders Symptom ScoringChange from Baseline at 12th week

Voiding Disorders Symptom Scoring was developed in 2005 and includes 13 questions about symptoms and 1 question about quality of life .

The scale is for parents and scoring is done according to the answers from the parents. The total score is between 0-35 points. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the severity of the patient's symptoms also increases.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Rome IV CriteriaChange from Baseline at 12th week

Rome IV criteria allow to detect the presence of constipation in toilet trained or untrained children. Abdominal pain that recurs at least once a week in the last 3 months; If defecation is associated with at least two of the symptoms of a change in the frequency of pooping and a change in the form of poop, constipation is present according to the Rome 4 criteria.

Bristol Stool ScaleChange from Baseline at 12th week

The Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) was developed by Lewis and Heaton at the University of Bristol in 1990 and classifies human faeces into 7 groups. The shape of the stool changes according to the time it stays in the colon. The BSS is a fast and reliable indicator of transit time. There are 7 different poop forms on the Bristol stool scale. Types 3 and 4 correspond to the normal poop form. Types 1 and 2 show that the person has symptoms of constipation. Tip 5,6,7 corresponds to (in order) lack of fiber, mild diarrhea and severe diarrhea.

Bladder DiaryChange from Baseline at 12th week

The bladder diary is a simple and non-invasive method of assessing people with lower urinary tract symptoms. The International Children's Continence Society has proposed a chart to assess lower urinary tract dysfunction, showing 48-hour daytime voiding frequency, voiding volume, voiding duration, presence of urgency, type and amount of fluid intake, and degree of urinary incontinence.

Pediatric Incontinence Quality of Life ScaleChange from Baseline at 12th week

Pediatric Incontinence Quality of Life Scale is the first continence quality of life scale developed in the pediatric population. It is a continence-specific quality of life scale developed for children and adolescents in 2006. The Turkish validity and reliability study was performed in 2011.

In the initial development stages of the PINQ scale, it was developed as 28 questions including 7 dimensions that evaluate children's social relations with their peers, self-esteem, family and home relations, body image, independence, mental health and treatment. In the following studies, these dimensions were grouped into two as Extrinsic (extrinsic) and Intrinsic (intrinsic), and finally the number of questions was arranged as 20. Each question is given a score of 0 (no), 1 (almost never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (often), 4 (always), and a total score (0-80) is calculated. An increase in the total score indicates that the patient's quality of life worsens .

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Pelin Pişirici

🇹🇷

İstanbul, Besiktas/Istanbul, Turkey

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