The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of massage on knee joint passive range of motion (PROM) for children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Ten subjects were randomly assigned into either PROM (P) or Massage & PROM (MP) group. Subjects received treatment three times a week for eight weeks with three knee PROM evaluations. Subjects in MP group received massage to both lower extremities and PROM exercise. Subjects in the P group only received PROM exercise. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the first measurement as covariate was used to compare the effect of treatment. Results showed that the knee PROM in the MP group significantly improved from the first to the second evaluation, but no significance was found from the 2nd to the 3rd evaluation when compared with the P group. it could be concluded that massage combined with PROM exercise can increase knee PROM for children with spastic CP.
