Morphological Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle Growth in Ambulant Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

ABSTRACT: Only cross-sectional studies have demonstrated muscle deficits in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP). The impact of gross motor functional limitations on altered muscle growth remains unclear. This prospective longitudinal study modelled morphological muscle growth in 87 children with SCP (age range 6 months to 11 years, Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] level I/II/III = 47/22/18). Ultrasound assessments were performed during 2-year follow-up and repeated for a minimal interval of 6 months. Three-dimensional freehand ultrasound was applied to assess medial gastrocnemius muscle volume (MV), mid-belly cross-sectional area (CSA) and muscle belly length (ML). Non-linear mixed models compared trajectories of (normalized) muscle growth between GMFCS-I and GMFCS-II&III. M

SUBMITTER: De Beukelaer N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9963346 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature