Fidgety Movements Assessment Accuracy Survey in Japan

To investigate the accuracy of fidgety movements (FMs) assessment in Japanese assessors. Sixty specialists participated in the first survey. Of the participants, 18 were assessors certified by the GMs basic-training course. The surveys were composed of FMs assessment of 20 video clips. The correct assessment rates (CARs) were investigated. The survey videos were judged into three types: normal (F + +, F +), abnormal (AF) and absent (F + -, F-). After the first survey, each participant performed a self-learning exercise using clips of the first survey. The follow-up survey was conducted three months after the first survey. The median CAR of the first survey was 65% in certified assessors and 50% in noncertified assessors. The median CARs of certified assessors were significantly higher than that of noncertified assessors for all clips and for normal FMs and AF clips (p < 0.01). After 3 months of self-learning exercise the CARs in each judgement type improved in 28 follow-up survey participants. Their median CAR improved from 60% in the first survey to 84% in the follow-up survey. To practise general movements assessment (GMA), course certification is required. The self-learning exercise with the confirmed judgement FMs clips may be effective for improving the ability of FMs judgement.

Avaliação dos movimentos em recém-nascidos prematuros internados em uma unidade de cuidados intermediários neonatal

Objetivo: Avaliar os movimentos em recém-nascidos prematuros internados em uma unidade de cuidados intermediários neonatal, segundo a General Movements Assessment (GMA). Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, exploratório de abordagem quantitativa e delineamento transversal, realizado em um Hospital Materno-Infantil no interior da Bahia, no período de julho a setembro de 2021, composto por uma amostra de 20 recém-nascidos pré-termos. Os instrumentos utilizados para coleta de dados da pesquisa foram: formulário do prontuário dos recém-nascidos pré-termos e a escala de GMA. Resultados: A população do estudo apresentou idade gestacional corrigida entre 33 e 39 semanas correspondendo a fase dos Writhing Movements, foi possível identificar que 65% apresentaram movimentação anormal, sendo 55% preditivo para paralisia cerebral espástica. Conclusão: O Profissional fisioterapeuta além de realizar intervenção neurosensoriomotora em recém-nascidos de alto risco para o desenvolvimento infantil, realiza avaliação a fim de detectar sinais clínicos para atrasos de desenvolvimento motor. Toda intervenção tem a finalidade de adequar o tônus muscular, diminuir a dor, estimular as sinergias musculares e facilitar o desenvolvimento neurosensóriomotor, percebeu-se no estudo que o instrumento de avaliação GMA, é um facilitador confiável, desde idades gestacionais bem precoces.

Humans use minimum cost movements in a whole-body task

Humans have elegant bodies that allow gymnastics, piano playing, and tool use, but understanding how they do this in detail is difficult because their musculoskeletal systems are extraordinarily complicated. Nonetheless, common movements like walking and reaching can be stereotypical, and a very large number of studies have shown their energetic cost to be a major factor. In contrast, one might think that general movements are very individuated and intractable, but our previous study has shown that in an arbitrary set of whole-body movements used to trace large-scale closed curves, near-identical posture sequences were chosen across different subjects, both in the average trajectories of the body’s limbs and in the variance within trajectories. The commonalities in that result motivate explanations for its generality. One explanation could be that humans also choose trajectories that are economical in cost. To test this hypothesis, we situate the tracing data within a forty eight degree of freedom human dynamic model that allows the computation of movement cost. Using the model to compare movement cost data from nominal tracings against various perturbed tracings shows that the latter are more energetically expensive, inferring that the original traces were chosen on the basis of minimum cost.

The assessment of general movements in term and late-preterm infants diagnosed with neonatal encephalopathy, as a predictive tool of cerebral palsy by 2 years of age—a scoping review

Background The General Movements Assessment is a non-invasive and cost-effective tool with demonstrated reliability for identifying infants at risk for cerebral palsy. Early detection of cerebral palsy allows for the implementation of early intervention and is associated with better functional outcomes. No review to date has summarized the utility of the General Movements Assessment to predict cerebral palsy in term and late-preterm infants diagnosed with neonatal encephalopathy. Methods We conducted a scoping review involving infants born greater than or equal to 34 weeks gestational age to identify all available evidence and delineate research gaps. We extracted data on sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values and described the strengths and limitations of the results. We searched five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL) and the General Movements Trust website. Two reviewers conducted all screening and data extraction independently. The articles were categorized according to key findings, and a critical appraisal was performed. Results Only three studies, a cohort and two case series, met all of the inclusion criteria. The total number of participants was 118. None of the final eligible studies included late-preterm neonates. All three studies reported on sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive and negative predictive values. An abnormal General Movement Assessment at 3–5 months has a high specificity (84.6–98%) for cerebral palsy with a similarly high negative predictive value (84.6–98%) when it was normal. Absent fidgety movements, in particular, are highly specific (96%) for moderate to severe cerebral palsy and carry a high negative predictive value (98%) when normal. In the time period between term and 4–5 months post-term, any cramped synchronized movements had results of 100% sensitivity and variable results for specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Conclusions A normal General Movements Assessment at 3 months in a term high-risk infant is likely associated with a low risk for moderate/severe cerebral palsy. The finding of cramped synchronized General Movements is a strong predictor for the diagnosis of cerebral palsy by 2 years of age in the term population with neonatal encephalopathy. The deficit of high-quality research limits the applicability, and so the General Movements Assessment should not be used in isolation when assessing this population. Systematic review registration Title registration with Joanna Briggs Institute. URL: http://joannabriggswebdev.org/research/registered_titles.aspx.