Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Feb;90(2):128-36.
doi: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e3181fc7ddf.

Evaluating the effect of intensive intervention in children with cerebral palsy using a hypothetical matched control group: a preliminary study

Yoshihiko Yabunaka  1 , Izumi Kondo, Shigeru Sonoda, Eiichi Saitoh, Yukari Tsuruta, Mayumi Konaka, Takamasa Konaka, Satomi Kawarada
Affiliations

Evaluating the effect of intensive intervention in children with cerebral palsy using a hypothetical matched control group: a preliminary study

Yoshihiko Yabunaka et al. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intensive intervention in children with cerebral palsy using a hypothetical matched control group based on motor growth curves.

Design: For pretest-posttest design using a hypothetical control group, a convenient sample of 39 children with cerebral palsy who received intensive intervention without surgical treatment was assigned to the experimental group. The hypothetical matched control group was created based on motor growth curves. Gains in Gross Motor Function Measure-66 score after intensive treatment in the experimental group were compared with scores in the hypothetical matched control group using a mixed design for repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance.

Results: Gross motor function development in the experimental group was significantly accelerated compared with the hypothetical matched control group.

Conclusions: In this preliminary study, using a hypothetical control group, the effectiveness of intensive intervention in children with cerebral palsy has been demonstrated. Although it is desirable to have a baseline phase to make sure whether gross motor function in the hypothetical control group changes in a similar way to that in the experimental group before an intervention phase, the hypothetical control group design is well worth considering as a research design option in the field of cerebral palsy research.

PubMed Disclaimer