الفهرس 
Electromyography evaluation for hamstrings stretch duration in children with diplegia
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Abstract
Background: Children with cerebral palsy suffer from a wide range of complications which may be neurological, muscular or skeletal. Muscle tightness is a common musculoskeletal complication in cerebral palsy. Stretching exercises are one of the used methods to decrease muscle tightness but there is a lack of agreement on the effective time of single stretching session. Objectives: To identify the proper duration of hamstrings stretching exercises in children with diplegia and to identify the effect of stretching on motor unit amplitude and muscle tension. Patients and methods: This study was conducted on 40 children with diplegic cerebral palsy, their age ranged from 7 to 10 years, their degree of spasticity ranged from 1 to 2 according to modified Ashworth scale with degree of popliteal angle ranged from 30 to 45 degrees and level II and III according to gross motor function classification system. The children classified into 4 equal groups (group A, B, C & D). Single session of stretching was applied respectively for cyclic 1-minute stretch, 10, 20 & 30-minutes positional stretch.Nexus 10 by (Mind Media) was used as Surface electromyography device to monitor hamstring activity. Popliteal angle was measured by Digital inclinometer. Result: Motor unit amplitude during stretch of group A increased significantly more than that of other groups (p < 0.001). There is no significant difference in post stretch motor unit amplitude between the four groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The stretching exercise for hamstrings in children with diplegia has no significant effect on decreasing motor unit amplitude and muscle tension after one session of stretching. It is better to use positional stretch with a duration ranges from 10 to 30 minutes than the cyclic 1-minute stretch