{"id":3575,"date":"2025-04-30T13:53:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T03:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.melbasupport.com.au\/?p=3575"},"modified":"2026-06-14T18:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:08:10","slug":"new-research-improves-cerebral-palsy-assessments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.melbasupport.com.au\/latest-news\/new-research-improves-cerebral-palsy-assessments\/","title":{"rendered":"New research improves Cerebral Palsy assessments"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3575\" class=\"elementor elementor-3575\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2eed1fcf e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2eed1fcf\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-757443d2 e-con-full home-banner e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"757443d2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b365576 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-laptop__width-initial elementor-widget-tablet_extra__width-initial elementor-widget-tablet__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7b365576\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">New research improves Cerebral Palsy assessments<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7285b77a elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"7285b77a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-f88c87c elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time> 30 April 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3abc4872 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3abc4872\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-476514b2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"476514b2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-721bdd82 link elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"721bdd82\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A new set of tools is changing the way doctors and researchers track muscle development in children with physical disabilities, especially those with Cerebral Palsy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Created by experts from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW, these new \u201cmuscle growth charts\u201d help measure how a child\u2019s muscles are growing over time. Unlike the usual height and weight charts that have been around for hundreds of years, these charts focus specifically on muscle growth, giving a much clearer picture of a child\u2019s development.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It is hoped this will result in earlier and more accurate identification of muscle growth problems, leading to more targeted, personalised therapies and better long-term outcomes for movement, development, and overall health.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Cerebral Palsy, the most common physical disability among children, affects an estimated 17 million people globally. Muscle growth is particularly important in this group, as delays or impairments can significantly impact movement, development and long-term health.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Dr Bart Bolsterlee, Senior Research Fellow at NeuRA and UNSW Engineering, said the new growth curves made it easier to spot when a child\u2019s muscle development wasn\u2019t following typical patterns.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cMuscle growth is important for normal childhood development because skeletal muscles help move the growing body and also play an important role in glucose metabolism,\u201d he told Freedom2Live.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIndividual muscles in infants and children grow at different rates. Diseases and conditions that impair muscle growth can affect some muscles more than others. So, the assessment of muscle size by mass or volume is best done with a muscle-specific reference curve.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The findings are part of the ongoing MUGgLE Study, a project focused on better understanding childhood muscle development.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cA consistent finding is that children with CP have, on average, smaller muscles than age-matched typically developing children,\u201d Dr Bolsterlee said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cBut, as in typically developing children, muscle sizes vary widely between children with Cerebral Palsy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe muscle-specific reference curves may help identify muscle growth impairments in individual children with Cerebral Palsy, and in children with other conditions that impair muscle growth. Getting this information more easily, may make it easier for individuals to get more targeted and tailored therapies and support.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Looking ahead, the team hopes to expand this research by developing predictive tools using biomechanical and computational models to forecast movement patterns and identify the most effective treatment options for individual children.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-247876f6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"247876f6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ba97c39 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ba97c39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div 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