Evolução do tempo de execução e dos movimentos compensatórios nas atividades de sentar e levantar da cadeira em crianças com distrofia muscular de Duchenne

Abstract

Background: With the progressive increase of muscle weakness in patients with DMD, new compensatory movements are employed to maintain the performance of functional activities. Objective: To describe the evolution of compensatory movements observed in sitting and rising from a chair in children with DMD. Compare and correlate the evolution of timed performance of these activities and the number of compensatory movements in one year. To analyze the responsiveness of timed performance in six-month and one year intervals. Method: Twenty-three ambulatory children with DMD, aged 5 to 12 years, were followed during one year. Sitting and rising from a chair were evaluated in three moments (initial assessment, after six and after twelve months) with the Functional Assessment Scale for DMD, domain 1 (FES-DMD-D1). Analyses of variance (ANOVA) compared the timed performances and numbers of compensatory movements (scores on the phases and subphases of FES-DMD-D1). Post hoc Tukey tests were used when a significant main effect was identified and the Spearman test was used to correlate these variables. Responsiveness of the timed performance was described by the effect size (ES) and the standardized response mean (SRM). Results: The progression of sitting and rising from a chair in one year resulted in a significant increase in FES-DMD-D1 scores and timed performance. Only rising from a chair showed moderate to strong correlation with timed performance. Timed performance was responsive in six months and one year reassessments. Conclusion: There was a progressive increase in the number of compensatory movements and timed performance of sitting and rising from a chair. Only rising from a chair showed correlation between compensatory movements and timed performance. For a more accurate assessment of DMD progression, we suggest monitoring the timed performance of rising from a chair and, whenever possible, scoring the compensatory movements.