Impact of dual task on postural sway during sit-to-stand movement in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Background: To verify the effect of dual-task on postural oscillation during sit-to-stand movement in children with Cerebral Palsy.

Methods: 17 children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy and 20 typically-developing children, aged 5 to 12 years, performed the following tasks: Simple task: sit-to-stand with arms crossed against the chest; bimanual dual-task: sit-to-stand while carrying a tray; unimanual dual-task: sit-to-stand while holding a plastic cup with one hand. For data analysis, sit-to-stand was divided in three phases: preparation (phase 1), rising (phase 2), and stabilization (phase 3). Postural control was measured using a force plate, and the variables analyzed were: area, anterior-posterior and medial-lateral velocity, and STS duration. Analysis of variance was applied to test the effects of group; task conditions and interactions.

Findings: Children with cerebral palsy presented higher values of postural oscillation when compared to their typical pairs. Bimanual and Unimanual dual tasks presented greater postural oscillation values in sit-to-stand phase 1 compared to simple task. In bimanual dual-task, children with cerebral palsy presented lower values of velocity in phases 3, and greater postural oscillation and duration of the task when compared to single-task and unimanual dual-tasks. I.

Interpretation: The insertion of a secondary task seems to interfere differently children with cerebral palsy, depending on the specific demands of each task. Thus, the importance of inserting dual tasks in the interventions is emphasized, considering that they are executed extensively in the day to day, and can act as facilitators or challenge in the execution of functional tasks.