Ankle Movement Indicators for Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis

Leah Gentner1, Isabelle Kang1, Denise Kao1, Michelle Kee1, Semanti Naiken1, Colleen Peyton2, Theresa Moulton2
1Northwestern University, 2Feinberg School of Medicine

Background and Objective Results Study Limitations

§ Key takeaways:
§ Cerebral palsy (CP): § Small sample size
§ No significant difference of plantar flexion
§ Caused by a brain injury to § Limited statistical power
frequency between the two groups.
the fetus/infant1 § Limited generalizability
§ Significantly longer average duration of
§ Leads to impaired
plantar flexion in infants with CP.
development of movement1
§ Early intervention for Discussion
neuroplasticity1 § Infants with CP showed significantly longer
§ Determine if particular average duration compared to typically
movement characteristics of developing infants. This could be used in early
ankles are indicators for CP diagnosis.
to add to develop an earlier § Frequency of plantar flexion between the two
diagnosis. groups was nearly but not significant.
§ Future studies with greater sample sizes may
Methods help in understanding the generalizability and
implications of this finding to determine whether
§ Table 1: Frequency of plantar flexion in right foot, left to use this indicator in early CP diagnoses.
foot, and overall for typically developing infants vs.
§ Figure 1: Plantar flexion infants with CP.
§ Right p=0.05, left p=0.15, overall p=0.07. References
§ 1. Novak I. Evidence-Based Diagnosis, Health Care,
and Rehabilitation for Children With Cerebral Palsy.
§ Coded the onset and offset Journal of Child Neurology. 2014;29(8):1141-1156.
of active movement of 8
infants with CP and 8 without Acknowledgements
(12-14 weeks corrected age) § A special thanks to the families for participating in the
§ Calculated the frequency study.
and average duration of § I would also like to thank my faculty mentors Theresa
plantar flexion for each infant Moulton and Colleen Peyton for their support.
§ The study resulting in this presentation was assisted by
a grant administered by Northwestern University's
Office of Undergraduate Research. However, the
conclusions, opinions, and other statements in this
§ Table 2: Avg duration of plantar flexion in right and left presentation are the author's and not necessarily those
feet for typically developing infants vs. infants with CP. of the sponsoring institution.
§ Right p= 0.01, left p= 0.03.