Abstract

Children with cerebral palsy tend to be less physically fit compared to typically developing peers. This is mainly due to the lack of physical activity and exercise during their childhood. If adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy don’t get enough exercise, it could result in reduced mobility and physical fitness. It is very important to start treatment for cerebral palsy when the child is young. The goal of this research was to investigate how children with spastic cerebral palsy might benefit from enhancing their hand muscle functioning by squeezing a sponge tennis ball during hand-strengthening exercises. The study implemented a true experimental design with a pre-and post-test control group. This methodology allowed for a rigorous and systematic investigation, ensuring reliable and valid results. Twelve boys between the ages of 15 and 17 who were all diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy participated in sponge tennis ball gripping exercises as part of a program of intervention. A 30-minute workout of sponge tennis ball squeezing involves 4-6 sets of 15-20 repetitions with passive rests of 30 seconds. The prescribed regimen involves conducting the exercise four times per week for six weeks. Before and after the intervention, the Hand Grip Dynamometer was used to assess the hand muscle strength of children with spastic-type cerebral palsy. Data analysis techniques were applied using the independent samples t-test with a significant level of 5%. The results showed the average muscle strength of the right hand after the intervention between control vs. experiment (4.36 ± 1.35 kg vs. 34.16 ± 3.34 kg (p = 0.000)), the average muscle strength of the left hand after the intervention between control vs. experiment (2.31 ± 0.49 kg vs. 30.18 ± 2.08 kg (p = 0.000)). The findings of the research suggest that engaging in frequent tennis ball gripping exercises, conducted on a frequency of four sessions per week over a duration of six weeks, may yield notable improvements in the hand muscle functionality of children diagnosed with spastic-type cerebral palsy. The findings suggest that including these activities in treatment, procedures may provide significant value for persons with this particular illness.

Keywords

cerebral palsy, children, spastic type, tennis ball exercise