An electromyography in spastic diplegia.

To evaluate the pathologic state accurately and objectively, fifteen patients with spastic diplegia were examined with surface electromyography (EMG) of the rectus femoris, medial hamstring, anterior tibial and gastrocnemius muscles. Seven showed disturbed reciprocal innervation (disturbed group) and 8 showed reciprocal innervation (non disturbed group). The disturbance of reciprocal innervation on EMG showed a positive correlation with delay in onset of crawling by 10 months (p less than 0.05), a low level of motor development (p less than 0.005) and more abnormal CT findings. Four patients in the disturbed group showed various abnormalities in X-rays of the hips. Surface EMG findings of crawling muscle may be useful for understanding the pathologic state of crawling in spastic diplegia.