CoMBiT

Constraint Induced Movement and Bimanual Therapy: A randomised trial

Funding source:  National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

Grant Type:  Project Grant

Start / End Date:  2013

Chief investigators

Professor Roslyn Boyd, Professor Jenny Ziviani, Dr David Abbott, Professor Stephen Rose, Professor Richard Macdonell, Dr Leanne Sakzewski

Associate Investigators

Professor Graeme Jackson, Dr Martin Sale, Dr Robert Ware, Ms Kerry Provan, Dr Andrea Guzzetta, Ms Deb Kahn, Dr Priya Edwards, Dr Lisa Copeland, Professor Alan Coulthard, Ms Joanne Bowden, Ms Laura Miller, Ms Katherine Dare, Ms Emmah Baque, Ms Kerry Marnane

Project description

Congenital hemiplegia occurs in over 1 million children under 21 years of age in the industrialised world and is the most common type of cerebral palsy. These children experience limitations in the use of their impaired upper limb and difficulty with bimanual coordination tasks, adversly impacting daily activities and participation in home, school and community life.

There are currently two diverse intensive therapy approaches aimed at improving upper limb performance. Traditional therapy has adopted a bimanual training approach (BiM) and recently, constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) has emerged as a promising unimanual approach. This has lead us to consider that a sequentially combined approach with initial CIMT followed by BiM could be the optimal protocol for the treatment of children with hemiplegia compared to standard care.

Objectives

The overall aim of the project was to compare combined constraint induced therapy and bimanual training with individually tailored occupational therapy and physiotherapy sessions (standard care). The CoMBiT therapy was delivered in a motivating circus-themed two-week day camp.

Funding

This study received funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.