Article

Weakness is a major impairment in many movement disorders, including
cerebral palsy (CP), which presents as a decrease in muscle strength. Manual
muscle testing (MMT) is very popular in clinical practice, however it has many
limitations. OBJECTIVE: (1) Whether maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) measures
differ across clinical MMT groups; (2) Whether an association exists between
clinical MMT score groups and instrumental MVC measures. METHODS: Twenty-one
participants with spastic CP were recruited (11 females and 10 males; age =
13.46+/-3.62 years). To achieve the aims of the study, we investigated the
relationship between qualitative (MMT) and instrumental (MVC) measures of knee
flexor muscles' strength in patients with CP. RESULTS:
MVC values increased
somewhat proportionally with increasing MMT score group (p = 0.032, MS = 207.54,
F = 3.75). The differences in MVC values was only statistically significant
between score groups 3 and 5.
A weak correlation (R = 0.4, MVC = -2.54 + 4.50
MMT, p < 0.01) was found between measured MVCs and the MMT score groups.
CONCLUSIONS: In pediatric research studies, instrumental MVC should be preferred
over MMT scoring. Also, MMT score groups higher than 3 should be modified in
clinical testing of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.

Langue : ANGLAIS