Gross motor activity and etiologic factors associated with the cerebral palsy

Abstract

Introduction: The cerebral palsy presents different degrees and consequences, and its causes not very known. Thus, this article objectified to identify the etiology factors and evaluate the gross motor function of students with cerebral palsy of the municipal public of Florianópolis (Santa Catarina, Brazil) system education. Materials and Methods: This study was classified as descriptive, diagnostic and transversal. Twenty-two subjects with cerebral palsy that obeyed the inclusion approaches were selected. The instruments used were antecedent form and the Gross Motor Function Measure-88. Statistical analysis was based on the descriptive and inferencial statistics. Results: The average age was eight years, with 63.3% of the female gender and 36.7% male. The prevalent palsy was quadriplegia (35.7%). The preponderant etiologic factor was perinatal asphyxia (42.8%). The larger percents of gross motor function occurred in the measures A, B, E and D of the ataxic cases, and the less percents in the measures C, D and E of the choreoathetosis cases. Discussion: Multiple etiologic factors on prenatal, perinatal and postnatal periods were identified. Lowest scores in the Gross Motor Function occurred in the quadriplegia and choreoathetosis cases, in which the girls had a total score greater than the boys in the average value, however, this difference was not significant.