Six-Month Follow-Up of Kinesitherapy for Cerebral Motor Disorders in Early Childhood

Abstract

Introduction:- There is a consensus about the positive effect of kinesitherapy in cerebral motor disorders, but not about its recommended frequency. There is no consensus on the statistical significance of predictive factors. Aim:- To compare the effect of kinesitherapy versus control, as well as to compare the statistical significance of the following factors: age, corrected age, weight, gender, pregnancy, number of pregnancies, conception, birth, twins, pathological reflexes, primitive reflexes, kinesiology tests, cranial ultrasound, follow-up and frequency of kinesitherapy. Material and methods:- 27 children (age 8.21 ± 5.49 months) with cerebral motor disorders were followed for six months. They were divided into kinesitherapy group and control group. The control group (n = 15) was followed up in the beginning, at the second week, and at the sixth month. The treatment group (n = 12) was followed up in the same way but received kinesitherapy once daily for two weeks at the beginning of every month. Parents were instructed to perform the same techniques with their children as often as possible at home. The following factors were recorded and analyzed: age, corrected age, weight, gender, pregnancy (normal or pathological), number of pregnancies, conception (normal or in vitro), birth (normal or pathological), twins (yes or no), pathological reflexes, primitive reflexes, kinesiology tests, cranial ultrasound, follow-up (short-term and long-term) and frequency of kinesitherapy. Results:- At the beginning of the follow-up, there was no difference between the two groups regarding all factors (P>0.05). Both groups showed better results after two weeks (P<0.05) and after six months (P<0.05) regarding kinesiology tests, pathological and primitive reflexes. The kinesitherapy group showed better results versus the control group at the end of the second week (P<0.05) and at the end of the sixth month (P<0.05) regarding kinesiology tests, pathological and primitive reflexes. The regression coefficients of the factors decreased in the following sequence: frequency of kinesitherapy (0.787), kinesiology tests (0.412), primitive reflexes (0.352), conception (0.298) , birth (0.282), twins (0.221), corrected age (0.220), age (0.197), pregnancy (0.197), pathological reflexes (0.143), cranial ultrasound (0.127), number of pregnancies (0.0501), gender (0.0306), follow-up (0.00547), and weight (0.0000031). Conclusion:- Kinesitherapy has a significant short-term and long-term effect that exceeds the placebo effect. Significance of the factors decreased in the following order: frequency of kinesitherapy, kinesiology tests, primitive reflexes, conception, birth, pregnancy, corrected age, age, pathological reflexes, cranial ultrasound, pregnancy, gender, follow-up, and weight. The frequency of kinesitherapy is the most important factor, which should be recommended at least three times daily in cerebral motor disorders in early childhood.