AzTrials
AzTrials

Cerebral Palsy, SpasticNCT03361930

Changes in Muscle Activity of Children With Spastic Unilat Cerebral Palsy Using 2 Types of Ankle-foot Orthoses to Walk

A study testing Ankle-foot orthosis in people with Cerebral Palsy, Spastic and Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, run by Oslo University Hospital at 1 site in Norway.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The aim of this study is to investigate if ankle-foot orthoses affect changes in muscle activity of children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy during walking. To minimize investigator variability, the same orthotist CO, clinical gait analyst GA and physiotherapist PT will perform their designated functions for… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 6 to 12 years
What is being tested?
Ankle-foot orthosis
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
20 participants
Where
1 siteNorway
Study dates
19 Oct 2017to Dec 2018
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 6 to 12 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Spastic unilateral cerebral palsy (hemiplegic)
  • Use of an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) during walking because of equinus in the ankle,
  • Excessive plantarflexion during walking
  • Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I or II

Who cannot join

  • Orthopedic surgery on the involved lower limb during the previous 12 months
  • Treated with BTX-a in muscles of the involved lower limb during the previous 6 months
  • Operated with selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR)
  • Passive dorsiflexion in the ankle, passive extension of the knee and hip < 0 degrees (no fixed contractures)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Lærke Lindskov, B. Sc. contact

+4790875192

laerli@ous-hf.no

Norway1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet

    Oslo, 0424

    Ann-Britt Huse, M. Sc., +4799272061, husann@ous-hf.no

    Lærke Lindskov, B. Sc., +4790875192, laerli@ous-hf.no

    Recruiting

Other trials in Norway

About this study

Official title: Electromyographic Comparison of Muscle Activity in Children With Spastic Unilateral Cerebral Palsy During Walking With Two Different Types of Hinged Ankle-foot Orthoses

The aim of this study is to investigate if ankle-foot orthoses affect changes in muscle activity of children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy during walking.

To minimize investigator variability, the same orthotist CO, clinical gait analyst GA and physiotherapist PT will perform their designated functions for all participants.

Read more

Each subject will be required to attend three appointments.

First appointment: CO takes a lower leg cast of the involved side; the cast is taken with the ankle and hindfoot corrected to neutral position.

Second appointment: CO fits the tone-reducing ankle-foot orthosis which entails trimming the device to fit footwear, checking the orthotic device restricts plantarflexion and ensuring comfortable and functional fit. The device is modified with holes for electrode placement at locations for tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius identified by PT.

The child receives the tone-reducing ankle-foot orthosis and is instructed to use this orthotic device on a daily basis for the next four weeks to grow accustomed to the tone-reducing stimuli which may require some acclimatization.

Third appointment: A clinical examination is conducted by PT. Surface gel electrodes are then attached while the participant is instructed in individual muscle activation tests; SENIAM guidelines will be followed for electrode placement and skin preparation, aside from hamstrings and rectus femoris which will follow amended instructions in line with the scientific literature.

GA quality checks the raw electromyography (EMG) signals by visual inspection during the isolated muscle activation tests and during a dynamic trial for movement artefacts, cross-talk, baseline drift and good noise-to-signal ratio.

Reflective markers are then applied in accordance with Plug-in Gait lower body model by PT to collect kinematic and kinetic data.

A resting trial is collected to establish the baseline activity level for each muscle.

The participant is instructed to walk at a self-selected speed along the walkway. Dynamic trials continue until two clean strikes to the middle force plate are collected for the involved leg. Barefoot data is collected first while any additional modifications necessary for electrode placement are made to the ankle-foot orthoses. The order of the orthotic conditions is randomized.

Data will be recorded confidentially using reference codes for participants and stored on a secure server with designated space allocated by the hospital.

Being tested
Ankle-foot orthosis
Keywords
spastic unilateral cerebral palsy, ankle-foot orthosis, AFO, muscle activity, muscular activity, electromyography, EMG,
Medical subject headings
Cerebral Palsy

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Ankle-foot orthosisDevice

    Also called AFO

    Two custom ankle-foot orthoses for the involved lower leg; cast, rectified and fitted by same certified orthotist to reduce clinician variability.

    The cast is rectified according to the specifications of Hylton (1987) to produce tone-reducing features in the foot plate; the tone-reducing ankle-foot orthosis is manufactured on this cast. The orthotist then remodels the cast with a flat foot plate; the plain ankle-foot orthosis is then manufactured.

Study groups in NCT03361930
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
CP participantsExperimentalSingle-day data collection for walking conditions; barefoot, with plain ankle-foot orthosis (flat foot plate) on involved side, with tone-reducing ankle-foot orthosis on involved side.
Receives: Device: Ankle-foot orthosis

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Muscle activity on/off times

    Linear electromyography profiles of muscle activity (high-pass filtered, rectified and low-pass enveloped) for medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, medial hamstrings, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis during walking. For each condition, gait cycles from two trials will be averaged. Signals will be synchronized to the gait cycle by foot contact/foot off events and normalized to max dynamic peak. On/off times will be defined as a percentage of max dynamic peak.

    Measured: 30 minutes

  2. Median frequency

    Median frequency [uV] representing firing frequency for each muscle. Averaged for gait cycles from two trials for each condition.

    Measured: 30 minutes

  3. Root-mean-square (RMS)

    RMS to quantify difference in firing amplitude between conditions; normalized against resting RMS value for same muscle.

    Measured: 30 minutes

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Ankle kinematic graph, sagittal plane

    Average ankle angle [degrees] for each time interval the gait cycle is divided into.

    Measured: 30 minutes

  2. Ankle moment, sagittal plane

    Average moment [Nm] value for each time interval the gait cycle is divided into.

    Measured: 30 minutes

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted5 Dec 2017
  2. Study start19 Oct 2017
  3. Primary completionOct 2018 (estimated)
  4. Study completionDec 2018 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
20 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03361930
Sponsor's protocol ID
2017/161
Status last verified
Nov 2017
First submitted
16 Nov 2017
Last updated
5 Dec 2017
Results posted
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Ankle-foot orthosis in people with Cerebral Palsy, Spastic and Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, run by Oslo University Hospital at 1 site in Norway.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 5 Dec 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Norway. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Lærke Lindskov, B. Sc. (+4790875192, laerli@ous-hf.no), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Muscle activity on/off times (time frame: 30 minutes). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 5 Dec 2017.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in