Does bimanual task training benefit manual ability and hand function of children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy?

Purpose: Sixty percent of children with bilateral cerebral palsy have impaired hand function. The study's purpose was to examine the benefits of bimanual task practice on the manual ability and hand function of children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy.

Methods: In this pre-post study design, 18 children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy with an average age of 11.5 (+/-1.9) years, Manual Ability Classification System levels I-III and Bimanual Fine Motor Function levels I-III participated in bimanual task practice of upper extremities. The task practice included clay activities, paper manipulation and activities of daily needs. The children underwent 45-minute training sessions 3 times a week over 6 weeks. The outcome measures were ABILHAND-Kids, Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test and grip strength.

Results: Post-training, a mean change of 6.44 logits in ABILHAND-Kids, 11 points on the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test, and 3.3 and 3.1 kilograms grip strength in the dominant and nondominant hands respectively were observed with a statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Bimanual task training might be beneficial in improving manual ability, hand function and grip strength in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy.