Electrical stimulation in cerebral palsy: a review of effects on strength and motor function

Extract

Interest in the area of cerebral palsy (CP) and electrical stimulation continues to grow because it has potential as a passive, non-invasive, home-based therapy, which is claimed to result in gains in strength and motor function. If proved effective it might provide an alternative to resistive exercise techniques for children with poor selective muscle control, or indeed it might improve treatment compliance in those children who find exercise programmes difficult. Unfortunately, early reports on the efficacy of this intervention are undermined by poor methodology. A lack of consensus on optimal treatment parameters and variation in the physical abilities of the participants further confound interpretation of the literature.