Comparing the Effectiveness of mCIMT and Bimanual Training

March 5, 2021 updated by: Hasan Bingöl, Muş Alparlan University

Comparing the Effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Bimanual Training in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy Mainstreamed in Regular School: A Randomized Controlled Study

This study aimed to compare the effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (mCIMT) and Bimanual Training (BIT) based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, Children &Youth (ICF-CY) conceptual framework. Our assumptions were that (1) mCIMT is more effective on outcomes representing all subdomains of ICF and (2) the possible improvements in the body structure and function, activity, and participation subdomains of ICF are intimately related to each other.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Thirty-two children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (mean age 10.43 years [SD 2.9 years]; 15 females, 17 males) whose functional profiles associated with Manual Ability Classification System, Gross Motor Function Classification System, and Communication Function Classification System changed between level I-III were randomly distributed to one of the mCIMT or BIT groups with equivalent dosing frequency and intensity (10 weeks/3 days per week/2.5 hours per day). Outcome measures categorized according to the domains of International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, Children &Youth (ICF-CY) framework were used to document body functions, activity, and participation outcomes. Assessments were carried out before (T1) and after treatment (T2), and at 16 weeks post-intervention (T3) by a physical therapist blinded to group allocation. Before the study entry, informed consent was obtained from the parents. General and specific contents related to each intervention were delivered as individual sessions at the school (one session per week) or group sessions with two participants at rehabilitation centers (two sessions per week).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Muş
      • Mus, Muş, Turkey, 49100
        • Muş Alparslan University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

7 years to 14 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical diagnosis of spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy
  • Must be able to attend primary or secondary school

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Family-dependent problems interfering with participation in study sessions
  • The presence of behavioral problems interfering with the assessment periods or intervention sessions

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy
Children's less affected hand was restricted through a mitt with a material sewn shut on the palmar face to promote the use of involved side as maximum as possible. Besides, if the participant attempted to use his/her less affected hand as an assistive, a bandage was also used to strap less affected upper limb to the trunk. Specific activities were selected according to deficit of interest, participant preference (on the condition of having potential effects on hand skills) and parent/guardian, or their teacher's request (e.g., drawing, painting, and eating). In case of activities requiring both hand use, such as stabilizing paper during the painting or holding the bricks of lego on the ground, the treating physiotherapist undertook the role of the child's dominant hand.
Children's less affected hand was restricted through a mitt with a material sewn shut on the palmar face to promote the involved side's use, and unimanual gross and fine motor activities were practiced with the more affected hand. Besides, if the participant attempted to use his/her less affected hand as an assistive, a bandage was also used to strap less affected upper limb to the trunk. Specific activities were selected according to the deficit of interest, participant preference (on the condition of having potential effects on hand skills) and parent/guardian, or their teacher's request (e.g., drawing, painting, and eating).
Active Comparator: Bimanual training
BIT was administrated without any restrictive material on the non-involved upper limb, but instead, children were engaged in age-appropriate gross and fine motor bimanual activities. All targeted deficits of interest were addressed within the context of the selected activity.
BIT was administrated without any restrictive material on the non-involved upper limb, but instead, children were engaged in age-appropriate gross and fine motor bimanual activities. All targeted deficits of interest were addressed within the context of the selected activity.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in unimanual capacity on Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) at 16 weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and week 16
The Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) is a criterion-referenced measurement tool, developed to evaluate upper extremity quality of movement in children with cerebral palsy.The Upper Extremity Skills Test has been validated for children with cerebral palsy aged 18 months to 12 years. Intra-rater reliability of the QUEST has been indicated to strong (ICC=0.96) in children with cerebral palsy aged eight and over.
Baseline and week 16
Change from baseline in manual ability on ABILHAND-Kids at 16 weeks
Time Frame: Baseline and week 16
ABILHAND-Kids is developed for children with cerebral palsy and measures a child's ability to manage 21 daily activities that require the use of the upper limbs. It measures the children's typical performance in daily life. ABILHAND-Kids is useful in reporting the functional performance of children with one affected side in the perspective of manual ability and has excellent test-retest reliability for Turkish children with cerebral palsy (ICC=0. 0.98)
Baseline and week 16

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 15, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 15, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

April 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 24, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 30, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 9, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 5, 2021

Last Verified

March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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