Relaxation exercise with cerebral palsied adults showing spasticity.

Four adults with spastic quadriplegia learned progressive muscle relaxation. They practiced tensing and releasing muscle groups. Researchers used a multiple-baseline design across participants. They timed pegboard tasks before and after training.

All four adults completed the pegboard faster after relaxation training. The speed gains showed up right away. The improvement held across sessions.

Johnson et al. (1994) replicated the idea with a twist. They taught cue-controlled relaxation to adults with intellectual disability. Both studies show behavioral relaxation helps adults with motor impairments.

Hutzler et al. (2013) extends the work. They used strength training instead of relaxation. Adults with severe CP gained hand strength and dexterity, but lost gains after an eight-week break. Together the papers show multiple paths to better hand use in CP.

Bleyenheuft et al. (2013) systematic review puts the 1978 paper in context. The review found sensory deficits drive grip problems in hemiplegic CP. Relaxation may work by reducing spasticity that blocks sensory feedback.

You can add five-minute relaxation breaks to adult CP sessions. Start with hands: tense for five seconds, release for ten. Track a simple dexterity task like moving pegs or stacking blocks. The 1978 study shows even severe spasticity can yield to simple behavioral methods. Pair this with strength work from Hutzler et al. (2013) for a two-pronged approach. Document maintenance sessions so gains don't fade.