Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Spasticity in Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy Children

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common developmental disability. CP is defined as an “umbrella term covering a group of non-progressive, but often changing, motor impairment syndromes secondary to lesions or anomalies of the brain arising in the early stages of its development”. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) involves the application of a series of intermittent stimuli to superficial skeletal muscles, with the main objective to trigger visible muscle contractions due to the activation of the intramuscular nerve branches. The aim is to study the effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on spasticity in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy children.

Methods: 30 children with an age range of 4-12 years, both males and females with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were selected from the outpatient department of University College of Physiotherapy, Faridkot. Patients were divided into two groups. Patients in one group were given neuromuscular electrical stimulation of quadriceps for 30 minutes 3 times a week and passive stretching of the hamstrings 3 times per week and the other group received passive stretching of the hamstrings 3 times per week. Total treatment duration was 6 weeks.

Results: All 30 patients completed the treatment. We noted significant improvements for all post interventions scores (p<0.05). A significant difference was found in spasticity and range of motion in group one.

Conclusion: This study has shown that neuromuscular electrical stimulation in addition to passive stretching is found to be effective in decreasing spasticity and improving knee range of motion than passive stretching alone.