The Effect of Lower Body Stabilization and Different Writing Tools on Writing Biomechanics in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Autor/inn/en	Cheng, Hsin-Yi Kathy; Lien, Yueh-Ju; Yu, Yu-Chun; Ju, Yan-Ying; Pei, Yu-Cheng; Cheng, Chih-Hsiu; Wu, David Bin-Chia
Titel	The Effect of Lower Body Stabilization and Different Writing Tools on Writing Biomechanics in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Quelle	In: Research in Developmental Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 34 (2013) 4, S.1152-1159 (8 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0891-4222
DOI	10.1016/j.ridd.2012.12.019
Schlagwörter	Biomechanics; Handwriting; Cerebral Palsy; Human Body; Psychomotor Skills; Children; Diagnostic Tests; Physical Disabilities + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Biomechanik; Handschrift; Hirnlähmung; Menschlicher Körper; Psychomotorische Aktivität; Child; Kind; Kinder; Diagnostic test; Diagnostischer Test; Physical handicap; Körperbehinderung
Abstract	A high percentage of children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulty keeping up with the handwriting demands at school. Previous studies have addressed the effects of proper sitting and writing tool on writing performance, but less on body biomechanics. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of lower body stabilization and pencil design on body biomechanics in children with CP. Fourteen children (12.31 [plus or minus] 4.13 years old) with CP were recruited for this study. A crossover repeated measures design was employed, with two independent variables: lower body stabilization (with/without) and pencil (regular/assigned grip height/biaxial). The writing task was to trace the Archimedean spiral mazes. Electromyography (EMG) of the upper extremity, the wrist flexion/extension movements, and the whole body photography were recorded to quantify the changes in posture and upper extremity biomechanics. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. No significant main effects were revealed in the EMG and wrist kinematics. The lower body stabilization significantly decreased the trunk lateral and forward deviations, and the visual focus-vertical angle. The biaxial pencil and the assigned grip height design significantly decreased the head, shoulder, trunk, and pelvic deviations compared with the regular design. The results indicated that the lower body positioning was effective in improving the trunk posture. A pencil with an assigned grip height or with a biaxial design could improve head, shoulder, trunk and pelvic alignment, but did not influence the muscle exertion of the upper extremity. This study could provide guidelines for parents, teachers and clinicians regarding the selection of writing tools and the knowledge of proper positioning for the children with handwriting difficulties. Further analyses can focus on the design, modification and clinical application of assistive sitting and writing devices for the use in children with handwriting difficulties. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10