We assessed the medium-term outcome of three methods of isolated calf lengthening in cerebral palsy by clinical examination, observational gait analysis and, where appropriate, instrumented gait analysis. The procedures used were percutaneous lengthening of tendo Achillis, open Z-lengthening of tendo Achillis and lengthening of the gastrosoleus aponeurosis (Baker's procedure). We reviewed 195 p...

We describe two families affected by a recessively transmitted familial cerebral palsy with onset in infancy. Two sisters in the first family have a severe spastic diplegia. The older sister also has mild mental retardation and hypothyroidism whilst the younger sister is of normal intelligence. Two brothers in the second family have a spastic quadriparesis, fifth finger camptodactyly and normal...

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a persistent disorder of movement and posture caused by non-progressive pathological processes of the immature brain. This is the natural history of the gait disorder in children with more severe diplegia and in the majority of children with spastic quadriplegia. One of the most common movement abnormalities among children with cerebral palsy is a crouched gai...

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified floor reaction ankle foot orthosis (FRAFO) design on gait performance in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: Eight children with cerebral palsy wore a modified FRAFO bilaterally for six weeks. Motion analysis was used to assess the immediate effectiveness of the orthosis on improving gait and also following si...

OBJECTIVES To study the relationships between motor type, topographical distribution and gross motor function in a large, population-based cohort of children with cerebral palsy (CP), from the State of Victoria, and compare this cohort to similar cohorts from other countries. METHODS An inception cohort was generated from the Victorian Cerebral Palsy Register (VCPR) for the birth years 1990-1...

BACKGROUND Gait disorders are very common in children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy (CP). In order to improve the CP children's gait and to quantify the outcomes of this intervention it becomes essential to perform an instrumented analysis before and after the intervention. OBJECTIVES To analyze the correlation among the Edinburgh Visual Gait Scale (EVGS), the Visual Gait Assessment Sc...