Due to abnormal neuromuscular development, functional capability in children with cerebral palsy is often severely compromised. Single event multi-level surgery (SEMLS) is the gold standard surgical treatment for patients with cerebral palsy. It has been demonstrated to improve gait, however, how standing posture is affected is unknown.

The aim was to investigate the effect of SEMLS in patients with spastic cerebral palsy on walking and standing posture using 3D gait analysis.

Participants were identified from the One Small Step Gait Laboratory database. Standardised 3D-Gait analysis was performed within 2 years pre- and post-SEMLS. Gait abnormality was measured using the Gait Profile Score (GPS) index; standing abnormality was measured using the newly-developed Standing Profile Score (SPS) index. A control group (n=20) of age/sex-matched CP patients who did not undergo surgery were also assessed.

104 patients (73 boys, 31 girls) with spastic cerebral palsy underwent SEMLS with appropriate pre- and post-gait analyses (2000–2015). 91 patients had bilateral limb involvement, 14 had unilateral limb involvement. Average age at surgery was 10.38 years (range 4.85–15.60 years). A total of 341 procedures were performed, with hamstring and gastrocnemius lengthening representing approximately 65% of this.

There was a 20% mean improvement in walking (GPS reduced 2.4°, p<0.001) and standing (SPS reduced 3.4°, p<0.001) following SEMLS. No improvement was noted in the control group. Significant correlations were observed between the changes in SPS and GPS following surgery (r2, p<0.001). Patients with poorer pre-operative standing posture (SPS) reported the most significant improvement following surgery.

We confirmed improvement in walking following SEMLS using the Gait Profile Score (GPS). This is the first paper to report that standing posture is also improved following surgery using a novel index, the Standing Posture Score (SPS). SPS could be adopted as a tool to assess functional capability and predict post-operative changes.

Ambulating children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (BSCP) demonstrate atypical posture and gait due to abnormal muscle and skeletal growth when compared to typically–developing (TD) children. Normal postural alignment in standing facilitates many of the tasks of daily living because it allows a stable base of support without requiring significant muscular effort. Similarly, increasing gait abnormality is associated with poorer functional capacity. Our aims were to compare the standing posture of TD children and children with BSCP using the Standing Profile Score and identify if any abnormality in standing is correlated with abnormality in walking in children with BSCP using the Gait Profile Score index.

We retrospectively compared 44 typically-developing children to 74 age-matched children with BSCP (GMFCS I & II). We performed 3D Gait Analysis during long-standing (10seconds) and in gait after application of 16 retro-reflective markers on anatomical landmarks of the lower limb and pelvis. Analysis of all kinematics was performed for movements in the sagittal, coronal and axial planes. The Gait Profile score (GPS) is a validated index of overall gait pathology. The Standing Profile Score (SPS) was developed using the same calculations for GPS but during static trials.

A significant correlation was observed between the Standing Profile Score (SPS) and Gait Profile Score (GPS) in children with BSCP (p<0.001). Significant differences were exhibited in GPS between the two groups, across all parameters, except the pelvic obliquity (p<0.05). A significant positive correlation existed for hip rotation in both groups, however the correlations observed at hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion were significantly greater in the BSCP group compare to the TD group (p<0.01).

We have shown that posture during gait (GPS) is predictable from standing posture (SPS) in patients with BSCP. This biomechanical relationship can aid surgical decision-making.

Purpose of study: To compare the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle belly length and volume in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) with that of normally developing (ND) children, and to assess the effect of gastrocnemius recession (GR) on MG muscle belly length and volume in the SDCP group.

Method: The MG muscle belly length and volume at the resting ankle angle were assessed with 3D ultrasound in 10 ND children, mean age 9.4 years, and in 7 children (9 limbs) with SDCP (mean age 8.1 years) who had fixed equinus deformities (mean 24 degrees). The children with SDCP were assessed just before, and at 7 weeks and 1 year after GR surgery. Muscle length was normalised to fibular length, and muscle volume was normalised to body mass.

Results: In both the ND and SDCP groups, muscle length was significantly related to fibular length (p=0.001) and muscle volume was significantly related to body mass (p< 0.001). The MG in the SDCP group had a mean reduction in normalised length of 19% and in normalised volume of 59% when compared to the ND group (p< 0.001). GR surgery lead to a further reduction in MG length (p=0.014) and a mean reduction of MG volume of 10% at 7 weeks (p=0.025). However, there was an increase in muscle volume of 39% (24% increase compared to the preoperative assessment) at 1 year following surgery (p< 0.001).

Conclusions: The MG belly is significantly shorter and thinner in children with SDCP compared to ND children. GR surgery reduces MG length but leads to an improvement in MG volume and thus in the ability of the MG to generate power.