Standing Programs to Promote Hip Flexibility in Children With Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy

To investigate the effects of a standing program on the range of motion (ROM) of hip abduction in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. The participants were 13 children, Gross Motor Functional Classification System level III, who received physical therapy and a daily standing program using a custom-fabricated stander from 12 to 14 months of age to the age of 5 years. Hip abduction ROM was goniometrically assessed at baseline and at 5 years. Baseline hip abduction was 42° at baseline and 43° at 5 years. This small difference was not clinically significant, but did demonstrate that it was possible to maintain hip abduction ROM in the spastic adductor muscles of children with cerebral palsy with a daily standing program during the children's first 5 years of development.