Abstract
Spasticity can have serious functional implications for children with neurological deficits. Lycra splints may be recommended by occupational therapists to manage spasticity and improve function. In this study, four children with neurological deficits were assessed for quality of upper limb movement while wearing and not wearing an upper limb lycra splint.
Two participants diagnosed with cerebral palsy were long-term splint users. The other two participants had an acquired brain injury and commenced wearing their splints during the intervention phase of the study. Using a single subject research design, 7–12 baseline (non-wearing phase) and intervention (wearing phase) assessments were conducted for each child using the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function.
The results show that one long-term user had a statistically significant decline in quality of upper limb movement during the intervention phase. One new user had a statistically significant improvement, but only on initial wearing of the splint. The results suggest that the effectiveness of Second Skin lycra splints was highly variable between individual children with spasticity.
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