Zeitschrift für klinische Fallberichte

Serial Casting as a Method of Restoring Normal Ranges of Lower Limb Movement in Patient after Damage to the Central Nervous System: A Case Report

Abstract

Wojciech R, Marzena A, Joanna B, Justyna L, Grzegorz I and Teresa P

Objective: The process of casting contracted lower limbs and its effects in a patient after damage to the central nervous system is described. Case report: A 57-year-old patient, half a year after sudden cardiac arrest, suffered as a result of myocardial infarction. The consequence of this incident was damage in the central nervous system, which was the cause of spasticity and, as a consequence, contracture in the joints of the lower limbs. Before physiotherapy, a functional test was carried out, which included: measurement of the passive ranges of lower limb movement, assessment of spasticity with the Ashworth scale and determination of independence with the FIM scale. Every day for two months, the patient used three individual therapies and verticalization. Every three days he had the cast on his lower limbs changed. Results: As a result of the therapy, a significant improvement in the range of motion was achieved, a decrease in spasticity measured by the Ashworth scale was observed, as well as an improvement during everyday activities on the FIM scale. Conclusion: Casting is an effective method supporting the treatment of contractures of the lower limbs caused by increased muscle tension of neurological origin.