The effects of task-oriented training on hand dexterity and strength in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy: a preliminary study.
Jong-Hoon Moon, Jin-Hwa Jung, Suk-Chan Hahm and 1 others
PMID 29184291WHAT IT FOUND
The six children who received conventional occupational therapy plus 20 minutes of task-oriented training showed a within-group hand dexterity improvement, but no between-group difference was found and grip strength did not improve.
Key findings
01The task-oriented training group improved on hand dexterity from 11.17 to 13.33, and this within-group change was significant.
02There was no significant difference between the task-oriented group and the control group for hand dexterity after intervention.
03Grip strength did not improve significantly in either group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 12 children were studied, with 6 in each group. The study did not confirm whether hand dexterity effects lasted after the four-week intervention. The hand dexterity improvement was significant only within the task-oriented group, not between the task-oriented and control groups. The paper describes the study as preliminary, so it cannot establish that task-oriented training works better than usual therapy.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that task-oriented training is better than conventional occupational therapy. The hand dexterity improvement was only within the task-oriented group, and the between-group comparison was not significant.