Publications by authors named "Carla Assenza"

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a leading cause of childhood motor disability, making independent walking a crucial therapeutic goal. Robotic assistive devices offer potential to enhance mobility, promoting community engagement and quality of life. This is an observational report of 22 cases of children with CP in which we evaluated the Moonwalker exoskeleton (a dynamic moving aid system) usability, functional changes, and caregivers' perspectives based on the International Classification of Functioning (ICF).

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This longitudinal study investigated the impact of the first independent steps on harmonic gait development in unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) and typically developing (TD) children. We analysed the gait ratio values (GR) by comparing the duration of stride/stance, stance/swing and swing/double support phases. Our investigation focused on identifying a potential trend towards the golden ratio value of 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how children with cerebral palsy (CP) adjust their locomotion when changing direction from forward to sideways, revealing insights into their mobility challenges compared to typically developing (TD) children.
  • - Results show that only about two-thirds of CP participants could successfully step sideways, often defaulting to forward movements and exhibiting poor trunk rotation and limb coordination.
  • - The findings suggest that sideways locomotion, along with backward movement, could be beneficial for rehabilitation, as it encourages children with CP to adapt to new movement tasks and improve their overall motor skills.
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Background: COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) refers to a mainly respiratory disease, caused by a new SARS-CoV-2 virus predominantly transmitted through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes of eyes, mouth, or nose. The main control measures are physical distancing, use of specific protective devices, hand hygiene and disinfection of environments and tools. During this health emergency, telemedicine and telerehabilitation guaranteed patients to receive continuity of care through a virtual support while maintaining physical distance.

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To explore professionals', adult patients', and children's caregivers' perception and satisfaction with telerehabilitation during COVID-19 lockdown. An observational transversal study on a web-based survey was conducted in order to explore participants' perception and satisfaction of telerehabilitation during COVID-19 lockdown. The study was conducted at our Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Service.

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Surface electromyography (sEMG) can be used to assess the integrity of the neuromuscular system and its impairment in neurological disorders. Here we will consider several issues related to the current clinical applications, difficulties and limited usage of sEMG for the assessment and rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy. The uniqueness of this methodology is that it can determine hyperactivity or inactivity of selected muscles, which cannot be assessed by other methods.

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Background: Children affected by pathologies causing neurodisability go through motor, cognitive, sensory and other limitations. The selection of assistive products can influence their level of independence and quality of life.

Aim: The present study investigated the possibility to assess the equipment needs of children with neurodisabilities, based on their clinical characteristics.

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