Infants with spina bifida: immediate responses to contextual and manual sensory augmentation during treadmill stepping. Pediatr Phys Ther 2013;25(1):36-45
Date
01/05/2013Pubmed ID
23288007DOI
10.1097/PEP.0b013e31827a7533Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84873872705 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 2 CitationsAbstract
PURPOSE: This study examined the effect of combined sensory enhancements and manual assistance on the immediate motor responsiveness of infants with spina bifida during treadmill trials.
METHODS: Six infants with spina bifida, aged 4 to 9.5 months, with lesion levels ranging from L4 to S3 were tested in each of 3 randomly ordered sets of enhanced sensory conditions across 3 weekly visits to the laboratory. Sensory enhancements included visual flow, unloading, load, and friction, presented in single and combined applications, as well as a set of trials with manual assistance for stepping at 2 treadmill belt speeds. Dependent variables included step frequencies and overall infant activity.
RESULTS: Friction+load was the most salient of the contextual sensory enhancements. Manual assistance at the slower speed was also effective at increasing infant stepping.
CONCLUSIONS: Sensory enhancements that increase stance excursion and vertical clearance during swing need further study.
Author List
Moerchen VA, Hoefakker HLAuthor
Victoria Moerchen BA,BS,MS,PhD Assistant Professor in the Human Movement Sciences department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Exercise TestFemale
Humans
Infant
Male
Physical Therapy Modalities
Spinal Dysraphism
Walking
