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Spastic diplegia is one of the most common forms of
cerebral palsy. This particular brain damage inhibits the proper development
of the upper motor neuron function. This means that the
nerve receptors in the spine, leading to affected muscles, in
this case the lower ones, are unable to properly absorb
gamma amino butirick acid; this amino acid is what regulates
the muscle tone in humans.
Now, the problem is if the nerve rootlets can't absorb
this amino acid then the affected nerves continuously send erroneous
messages to their corresponding muscles telling them to permanently, rigidly contract.
This constant spasticity ultimately causes pain, the breakdown of muscles and
joints, causing arthritis and tendinitis and eventually, over years, leads
to the progressive worsening of bone structure deformities.
The standard treatment for cerebral palsy is physical therapy. This
is done to prevent the spastic muscles from becoming contracted
and helps to strengthen the muscles, which would obviously otherwise
become weak from disuse. Here, a study has been done
to evaluate the effects of music on
the muscle power and movement control in children with spastic
diplegia during sit-to-stand movements.
23 children, aged between 5 to 12 years old, were
recruited and divided into two groups; one being a music
group and the other a control group. The music therapist
composed individualised music for each child to
use in their sit-to-stand movements. All of the children wore
46 infrared retroreflective markers, optimally placed to track their motion.
It was organised for the children to continuously perform these
movements for 8 repetitions. Those in the music group did
this to their own music for 5 of their repetitions
leaving the other 3 repetitions to be done without music.
These last 3 repetitions were categorized as the Continuation Condition
and they were also analysed as part of the
study.
While all the children were doing the exercises, kinematic and
kinetic data were measured, this is the study that describes
the motion of the bodies either with or without the
circumstances of external forces being considered. Tests
were used to compare the variables
between the Music group's 5 repetitions and the Control
group, and then between their last 3 repetitions that they
did without music with and the Control group.
What the researchers found was that the Music group had
improved and scored greater peak knee extensor power, greater total
extensor power, and improved center-of-mass smoothness compared to the Control
group. This they also saw when comparing the Continuous condition
to the Control group.
This study has demonstrated that sit to stand exercises
are improved, when being done with enhancement music,
something that the authors of the research point out may serve
as an effective alternative to other music being used in
these children's therapy, in a home exercise setting.