Article

The purpose of this study was to determine if our previously developed
muscle model could be used to predict forces of the quadriceps femoris and
triceps surae muscles of children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP).
METHOD: Twenty-two children with CP (12 males, 10 females; mean age 10y, SD 2y,
range 7-13y; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II and III)
participated. A physiologically based mathematical model with four free
parameters is presented. RESULTS: For individuals with CP, the model predicted
well the force profile throughout each contraction and both peak force and
force-time integral responses to a wide range of stimulation frequencies
(5-100Hz) and different stimulation patterns (constant-, variable-, and
doublet-frequency trains) both for nonfatigued and fatigued muscles.
INTERPRETATION: The significance of this work is the insight the model can
provide into the physiology of muscle in CP. Additionally, the model can
potentially be applied clinically to design optimal electrical stimulation
patterns for interventions to address impairments in strength and function in
individuals with CP, such as functional electrical stimulation-assisted cycling.

Langue : ANGLAIS