Quantifying weight-bearing by children with cerebral palsy while in passive standers.

PURPOSE:

Children who are nonambulatory are placed into standers with the goal of providing benefits from weight-bearing. The purpose of this study was to quantify weight-bearing loads by children with cerebral palsy while in standers.

METHODS:

Electronic load-measuring footplates were fabricated specifically for this study. Weight-bearing loads were continuously measured in 19 children who were nonambulatory during routine 30-minute standing sessions (3-6 sessions/child, total 110 sessions).

RESULTS:

Weight-bearing ranged widely (23%-102%) with a mean of 68% of body weight. There was some variation over the course of a session and between different sessions, but more variance was noted between subjects.

CONCLUSIONS:

Actual weight borne in a stander is quite variable, and in some instances only a fraction of actual body weight. Further studies are required to delineate relevant factors and identify ways to maximize weight-bearing loads while in a stander.