Effects of seat surface inclination on respiration and speech production in children with spastic cerebral palsy |
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Authors: | Hwa-Kyung Shin Eun-Jin Byeon Seok Hun Kim |
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Institution: | .Department of Physical therapy, Catholic University of Daegu, 13-13 Hayang-ro, Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan 712-702 Korea ;.School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 77, Tampa, FL 33612 USA |
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Abstract: | BackgroundRespiratory and speech problems are commonly observed in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The purpose of this study was to identify if inclination of seat surface could influence respiratory ability and speech production in children with spastic diplegic CP.MethodsSixteen children with spastic diplegic CP, ages 6 to 12 years old, participated in this study. The subjects’ respiratory ability (forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), and maximum phonation time (MPT)) were measured in three sitting conditions: a seat surface inclined 0°, anterior 15°, and posterior 15°.ResultsFVC was significantly different across three inclinations of seat surface, F(2, 45) = 3.81, P = 0.03. In particular, the subjects’ FVC at a seat surface inclined anterior 15° was significantly greater than at a seat surface inclined posterior 15° (P < 0.05). However, FEV1, PEF, and MPT were not significantly affected by seat surface inclination (P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe results suggest that anterior inclination of seat surface may provide a positive effect on respiratory function in children with spastic diplegic CP. |
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Keywords: | Cerebral palsy Ergonomics Respiration Seat inclination Speech production |
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