Mechanical advantage in children with cerebral palsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mechanical advantage in children with cerebral palsy
IRAS ID
217615
Contact name
Gill Holmes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Governance and Quality Assurance Lead
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
We propose to undertake a study that aims to quantify the mechanical advantage at the ankle joint during walking. This will be achieved by analysing data that is routinely collected from children with cerebral palsy both before and after calf-lengthening surgery. This will be a collaborative study between Alder Hey Gait Laboratory and Liverpool John Moores University.\nThe mechanical advantage of the ankle can be considered as a measure of the muscles’ ability to overcome the ground reaction force i.e. gravity, thus allowing us to propel the body forward during walking. A smaller value of mechanical advantage will require greater muscle forces to produce this movement.\nRecent research has informed our hypothesis that calf lengthening surgery procedure may cause a reduction in mechanical advantage in children with cerebral palsy. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into how the mechanical advantage is altered by surgical intervention in order to better guide decision making.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SW/0056
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion