| Objective: To investigate the effect of series casting on upper limb function in children with spastic cere-bral palsy. Methods: All 40 children with spastic cerebral palsy, hemiplegia and quadriplegia were randomly divided into observation group and control group, 20 cases in each group. Both groups were treated with routine rehabilitation therapy, and the observation group was treated with series casting during sleep at night additionally. Before treatment, 3 and 6 months after treatment, the radial abductor angle of thumb, area A and B of quality of upper extremity skills test (QUEST) and self-care items of the functional independence measure for children (WeeFIM) scale were assessed in two groups. Results: The radial abduction angle of thumb in the observation group and the control group increased after 3 and 6 months of treatment as compared with that before treatment (P<0.05), and the increase in observation group was more obvious than that in control group (P<0.05). After 3 and 6 months of treatment in the observation group and 6 months of treatment in the control group, the scores of QUEST evaluation in A and area B were improved as compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and those the observation group increased more significantly than in the control group (P<0.05). The scores of self-care ability in the WeeFIM scale of the observation group and the control group increased after 6 months of treatment as compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and those in the observation group increased more significantly than in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Series casting combined with rehabilitation training can obviously improve thumb adduction, hand function and daily living ability of children with spastic cerebral palsy. |
