Chest wall and abdominal expansions are related to pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Although pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength testing are widely used to examine respiratory function, their processes are complicated and difficult to follow, especially in children with cerebral palsy. In contrast, cirtometry is cheap, easy to apply and provides useful data of chest expansion. Thus the aim of this study was to examine the correlation between chest wall and abdominal mobility measured by cirtometry and pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength in children with cerebral palsy. Thirty-six children (age 13.39±2.95 years) with spastic cerebral palsy were included into the study. Pulmonary function testing was performed by spirometry. Chest wall and abdominal mobility were measured at three levels (upper, lower and abdomen) using a tape measure, while respiratory muscle strength was examined by respiratory muscle testing devices. The results showed that there were significant correlations between forced vital capacity and chest wall and abdominal expansion at all levels (r=0.63, p<0.001 for upper chest, r=0.69, p<0.001 for lower chest and r=0.76, p<0.001 for abdomen). There were also significant correlations between forced expiratory volume in one second and chest wall and abdominal expansion at all levels (r=0.63, p<0.001 for upper chest, r=0.67, p<0.001 for lower chest and r=0.75, p<0.001 for abdomen). Moreover, abdominal expansion correlated significantly with both MIP (r=0.41, p<0.05) and MEP (r=0.36, p<0.05). The results of this study demonstrated that there were high to moderate correlations between chest wall and abdominal expansion and lung volume in spastic cerebral palsy. There was also a weak correlation between abdominal expansion and respiratory muscle strength. These results indicate that chest wall and abdominal expansion measured by cirtometry could be used to assess basic respiratory function in children with spastic cerebral palsy.