Standing Programs to Promote Hip Flexibility in Children With Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy

Purpose: To investigate the effects of a standing program on the range of motion (ROM) of hip abduction in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Methods: The participants were 13 children, Gross Motor Functional Classification System level III, who received physical therapy and a daily standing program using a custom-fabricated stander from 12 to 14 months of age to the age of 5 years. Hip abduction ROM was goniometrically assessed at baseline and at 5 years. Results: Baseline hip abduction was 42 degrees at baseline and 43 degrees at 5 years. Conclusions: This small difference was not clinically significant, but did demonstrate that it was possible to maintain hip abduction ROM in the spastic adductor muscles of children with cerebral palsy with a daily standing program during the children's first 5 years of development.