Introduction
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of pediatric motor disability with a prevalence ranging from 2 to 3.6 out of 1,000 children in western countries (1, 2). Motor disorders are often accompanied by sensation, perception, cognition, behavior, communication, and epilepsy disorders (1). Although the lesions are established from birth and are non-progressive, the motor impairments experienced by children with CP affect their autonomy and functional outcomes during their life-span. Moreover, motor symptoms such as impaired ability to walk may worsen during development (3).
One of the most disabling long-term functional deficits in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) is impaired manual dexterity, i.e., impaired skilled hand movements and precision grip abilities (4). Upper-extremity (UE) impairments may affect functional independence, especially for activities of daily living requiring bimanual coordination (e.g., buttoning one’s shirt). It is now well known that intensive interventions based on motor skill learning principles and goal-directed training are effective for improving UE function in children with USCP (5). Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) was the first intensive intervention adapted to children with USCP (6). CIMT was first designed for adults with stroke and subsequently adapted to children with USCP showing improvements in hand function (5). Taking advantage of the key ingredient of CIMT (intensive practice with the affected UE), Charles and Gordon developed an alternative intensive bimanual approach termed “Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy” (HABIT) (7). HABIT was developed with recognition that the combined use of both hands was necessary to increase functional independence in children with USCP (7). Focusing on improving bimanual coordination through structured play and functional activities during HABIT demonstrated efficacy to improve UE function in children with USCP (5).
Both HABIT and CIMT focus only on the UE of children with USCP. Though the lower extremity (LE) is generally less affected than UE in children with USCP, impairments observed in the affected LE range from an isolated equine ankle to hip flexion and adduction with a fixed knee (8). Children with USCP are then unable to achieve postural symmetry while standing, systematically presenting with an overload on one bodyside (8). They also frequently encounter limitations in walking abilities (3). Besides the LE impairments, UE–LE coordination is often impaired in children with USCP (9, 10). This coordination is frequently used in daily living activities (e.g., walking while carrying an object in the hand, climbing stairs while using the railing). A program that simultaneously trains the UE and LE in children with USCP is thus of interest since the UE impairments in children with CP remain stable through time (11) while walking and other LE abilities may decline during development (3). In 2014, taking advantage of the key ingredients in HABIT (intensive bimanual practice), Bleyenheuft and Gordon developed a new intervention focusing on both the UE and LE entitled “Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy Including Lower Extremities” (HABIT-ILE) (12). Positive effects of this therapy focusing on both the UE and LE through structured play and functional activities have been demonstrated both for the UE and the LE of children with USCP (13) as well as, more recently, for children with bilateral CP (14). However, it is unknown whether the introduction of a systematic LE engagement in addition to a bimanual intervention may lead to attenuated improvements in UE compared to traditional HABIT due to shifts in attention (multitasking). This retrospective study aimed to compare changes in the UE of children with USCP undergoing 90 h of intensive bimanual intervention either with (HABIT-ILE) or without (HABIT) a LE component. We hypothesized that the introduction of systematic LE training simultaneously added to the bimanual training would lead to reduced improvements in the UE during HABIT-ILE compared to traditional HABIT. […]
