Influence of Electrothermotherapy on Spasticity in Cerebral Palsy: Case Report - Abstract
Objective: To analyze the influence of cryotherapy and thermotherapy on spasticity in cerebral palsy. Methods: The sample consisted of a patient with spastic cerebral palsy sequels,
female, and 10 years old of Centro Universitario Filadelfia (UniFil). Patient was assessed by: Pediatric Neurofunctional Assessment and Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory. It was
evaluated the passive amplitude of motion (goniometry) and the level of spasticity by the Modified Ashworth Scale, before and after the physiotherapeutic intervention in muscles with spasticity. The physiotherapeutic treatment (cryotherapy/20min; continuous therapeutic ultrasound/1MHz, 0.5w/ cm²), was managed in 10 sessions during 5 weeks, lasting 30 minutes each session. The Spearman correlation was used for the analysis of the non- parametric variables and the Pearson correlation for the parametric variables.
Results: The results found indicates increased muscle flexibility and reduced the degree of spasticity (being the value of p < 0.0001 for both studied variables).
Discussion: This study was effective in decreasing muscle spasticity with consequent improvement in the amplitude of joint movement. The application of cryotherapy and therapeutic ultrasound makes these resources important for therapeutic practice. Further research is needed to increase the sample size so that the results for this type of patient can be generalized.