Investigation of relationship between edinburgh visual gait score and selective motor control for children with cerebral palsy

Sardoğan C. (2020). Investigation of Relationship Between Edinburgh Visual Gait Score and Selective Motor Control For Children With Cerebral Palsy. Yeditepe University, Institute of Health Science, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, MSc thesis, İstanbul. Children with Cerebral Palsy have generally limited selective motor control which affects their ability to complete functional tasks Selective Motor Control has been shown to correlate with specific characteristics of gait, however in video based observational gait analysis, the sub phases of the gait cycle, which are affected by selective motor control, has not been investigated in children with Cerebral Palsy. Therefore the aim of this study was determine the relationship between Edinburgh Visual Gait Score and Selective Motor Control of the Lower Extremity test in children with cerebral palsy. Forty-two cerebral palsy children with Gross Motor Function Classification System level I-II-III and between 4-18 ages were participated for the study. After the demographic characteristics and all assessments of the patients were recorded, the gait characteristics of children were assessed by video based observational gait analysis. According to Edinburgh Visual Gait Score, phases of gait were analyzed. The Gross Motor Function Classification System levels has strong correlation with the total score of Edinburgh Visual Gait Score (r=0,604, p<0,001). There was a moderate negative correlation between total score of Edinburgh Visual Gait Score and total Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (r= -0,494, p<0.001). The findings of our study have shown the compliance with the literature and we think that, the effects of selective motor control on gait in the clinic may be evaluated with as an alternative to three-dimensional gait analysis video-based Edinburgh Visual Gait Score. Thus, the effect of the improvement in selective motor control on gait parameters can be immediately tested in the same clinic. Consequently, this results suggest it may help tailoring the physical therapy program to improve the quality of walking for CP children. Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Selective Motor Control, SCALE Test, Gait, Edinburgh Visual Gait Score