1 study level II+ | Age ranges from 10 months to 17 years. | 1. Care-giver questionnaire. | Improved postural stability and function seen in most studies. | Lack of validated assessment tools. |
7 studies level IV | Participants in studies ranged from 2 to 24 patients. | 2. Video recordings. | Useful aid to other therapies. | Unclear randomisation in level II+ study. |
| Lycra garments worn for 4–8 h day for between 4 weeks and 1 year. | 3. Spirometry, grip strength. | Reported practical difficulties with Lycra garments in some studies. | Observers not adequately blinded. |
| All children had cerebral palsy, except for 1 patient with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. | 4. Paediatric evaluation of disability inventory (PEDI). | | Small sample size with no control groups. |
| | 5. Quality of upper extremity skills test (QUEST). | | Heterogeneous sample groups. |
| | 6. Gross motor function measure (GMFM). | | |
| | 7. Melbourne assessment (upper limb). | | |