Evaluation and characterization of manual reaching in children with cerebral palsy: A systematic review

Manual reaching is used daily to perform manipulative tasks and activities of daily routine. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have limitations in this activity, with functional loss as a possible consequence. This review aimed to gather studies that evaluated and characterized manual reaching in children with CP, with the purpose of identifying the aspects analyzed, as well as review and discuss the results in the studies and its relationship to the children's level of functionality. 17 studies were selected for this systematic review from the search in electronic databases. The studies showed that children with CP show deficits in several spatio-temporal variables of reaching compared to typical children, such as longer time to perform the activity, higher peak velocity, lower index of curvature, and greater number of units of motion, which indicates lower smoothness and linearity of the movements of upper limbs. The performance is influenced by the level of motor impairment and various manipulations of the task. However, more studies are needed that help translating these results into treatment strategies that facilitate the performance of manual activities in children with CP.