Intensive neuromotor therapy with suit improves motor gross function in cerebral palsy: a Brazilian study

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common disability in children caused by central nervous system lesion. The aim of the present study was to verify the intensive neuromotor therapy effects in children with CP, in a reference Brazilian centre. In this study, three years of medical records from a Brazilian reference Centre of Intensive Neuromotor Therapy (INMT) which use the INMT protocol were analysed. The motor evaluation for each child was done by the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and GMFM-88 by an experienced professional, before and after each INMT module. A total of 53 children between the ages of 1 and 15 years (age at treatment initiation, initial evaluation), with a mean age of 5.94±3.38 years, participated in the study. Participants performed between 1 and 10 INMT modules. There was no strong correlation between age and overall performance on the GMFM scale, but it was observed a strong negative correlation between the percentage of GMFM gains and the number of modules (r=-0.709; R² = 0.50; p = 0.022, CI95%[0.014 - 0.026]), suggesting that patients tend to present higher percentage gains in the first modules. Through an intra-module comparison, it was observed statistical difference in the total score in each of the modules.