Effect of passive range of motion exercises on lower-extremity goniometric measurements of adults with cerebral palsy: A single-subject design

Background and Purpose. People with spastic cerebral palsy often receive passive stretching that is intended to maintain or increase joint passive range of motion (PROM) even though the effectiveness of these exercises has not been definitively demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of PROM exercises on 6 adults with spastic quadriplegia and contractures. Participants. Four men and 2 women ((X) over bar =31 years of age, range=20-44 years) who lived in an institution for people with mental retardation participated in the study. Methods. The authors used 2 multiple baseline designs. Three participants (group 1) received lower-extremity PROM exercises during phase A; PROM exercises were discontinued during phase B. Three participants (group 2) did not receive PROM exercises during phase A; PROM exercises were initiated during phase B. Data were analyzed using visual analysis and the C statistic. Results. Results varied with the method of analysis; however, phase A and phase B measurements, overall, did not differ for either group. Discussion and Conclusion. This study demonstrated use of a single-subject design to measure the effect of PROM exercises on adults with cerebral palsy. The authors concluded that the PROM exercise protocol did not have an effect on the lower-extremity goniometric measurements of the participants. [Cadenhead SL, McEwen IR, Thompson DM. Effect of passive range of motion exercises on lower-extremity goniometric measurements of adults with cerebral palsy: a single-subject design. Phys Ther. 2002;82:658-669.]