The Cerebral Palsy Integrated Pathway Scotland Guidelines (CPIPS) assess range of movement in children with Cerebral Palsy, and are creating a huge database of children with CP. It is recommended that the CPIPS test is carried out on children with CP either every six months or annually, depending on the child’s age and their ability; the frequency reduces with age.
Measuring range of movement with Bumble Bee Physio
We are CPIPS ‘Train the Trainer’ qualified and measure all of our CP superheroes’ ranges of movement in line with the CPIPS template. We have adapted the guidelines to include more than the CPIPS values and we have created our own ‘BBP Orthopaedic Information Sheet’. The CPIPS Guidelines only include ranges of movement for flexor muscle groups, as these are more likely to become tight in children with CP. But from our extensive experience, we know that some children can become tight in the extensor muscles, and we have added this to our BBP guidelines. Most physiotherapists will not measure range of movement in extensor muscles, but, although rare, if these become tight it can lead to an inability to sit at 90⁰. This can have a drastic impact on the child and their family’s life and function. We measure our own superhero’s range of movements every six months as a minimum, which is more often than the CPIPS Guidelines recommend, because we know that superheroes grow and change a lot in a year. This is to ensure that every BBP superhero reaches their maximum potential, with nothing getting in the way!
We have also adapted several other commonly used assessment values, outcome measures and guidelines. Although we carry out everything recommended in guidelines, we frequently add on our own specialised features, so that every child of every ability is assessed and monitored for all of their skills.