Quantification of control: a preliminary study of effects of neurodevelopmental treatment on reaching in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

The effects of neurodevelopmental treatment on reaching in children with spastic quadriplegia were studied using a method of analysis to quantify the qualitative term "smoothness." Hand position in three-dimensional space was recorded during a simple reaching task using the WATSMART (Waterloo Spatial Motion Analysis and Recording Technique) system in conjunction with videotaping. The number of accelerations and decelerations (movement units) were measured in addition to movement time, distance of path (directedness), and associated reactions. Each subject performed several reaches before and following one treatment session. Following treatment, reaches were significantly faster, smoother (fewer movement units), and more mature. This study supports the hypotheses that neurodevelopmental treatment can produce immediate changes in the kinematic properties of reaching and that kinematic data can be used to quantitatively describe components of movement (eg, smoothness) that have traditionally been described qualitatively.