To quantify hip adductor spasticity and hip abductor/adductor strength in children with and without cerebral palsy (CP).

Design: Descriptive study comparing measures for spasticity and strength in patients for childred with and without CP.

Participants: A volunteer sample of 44 children with spastic diplegic CP (CP group), mean age 9.3 years (SD 4.7 years); and 44 children without CP (NCP group), mean age 9.8 years (SD 3.9 years) were tested.

Methods:
For the spasticity measure, a KinCom dynamometer abducted the passive hip of each participant lying in a supine position at speeds of 10, 30, 60, and 90o/s while monitoring the resistive torque from the adductors. For the strength measure, the machine abducted the hip through its range at 10o/s while the participant performed a maximum contraction of the abductors. A similar test was performed for the adductors. Work values from the torque-angle data were calculated for each speed and subject. The spasticity measure was the slope of the line of best fit for the work-velocity data (larger numbers indicate greater spasticity). The strength measures were maximum values and work done by the abductors and adductors. Unpaired t-tests were used to test for significant differences between groups (p<0.05).

Abd, Abductor; Add, Adductor.
* Significantly different from NCP group.

Spasticity was significantly greater, and strength was significantly less in the CP group compared to the NCP group. Spasticity results corresponded to our previous work for the knee and ankle, and to previous literature. Strength results agreed with previous work indicating that the CP group would be weaker than the NCP group. However, results did not agree with previous work which indicated that abductor strength would be about the same as adductor strength in the CP group and that abductor strength would be greater than adductor strength in the NCP group.

Childhood Disablity Update 2005 - Conference Abstracts.Pediatric Oncall [serial online] 2006 [cited 15 January 2006(Supplement 1)];3. Available from:
http://www.pediatriconcall.com/fordoctor/Conference_abstracts/
Hip_abductor.asp