What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles.
Symptoms of cerebral palsy
The symptoms of CP vary from person to person. All people with CP have problems with movement and posture. Many also have related conditions such as intellectual disability; seizures; problems with vision, hearing, or speech; changes in the spine (such as scoliosis); or joint problems (such as contractures).
Early signs and symptoms can be observed among children who are affected by CP
- The child is stiff and floppy
- No rolling in either direction and inefficacy in bringing hands together
- Crawling in a lopsided manner
- Head lags when the child is lying on his back or when you pick him up
- Child out with only one hand while keeping the other fisted
- The child reaches out with only one hand while keeping the other fisted
Causes of cerebral palsy
The abnormal development of the brain or damage that leads to Cerebral Palsy can happen before birth, during birth, within a month after birth, or during the first years of a child’s life, while the brain is still developing.
Can cerebral palsy be treated?
The goal of treatments for Cerebral Palsy is to improve movement, speech, and quality of life. Physiotherapy is the most common treatment for cerebral palsy.
It’s crucial to start physiotherapy as early as possible. Skilled therapists can help children learn to walk, communicate and take care of themselves. They can also help you learn how to provide therapeutic opportunities for your child at home.
Treatment plans are different for everyone and may include:
- Therapies: Physical, occupational and speech therapies improve how a child moves, plays and interact with the world.
- Medications: Botulinum toxin (Botox®) injections temporarily weaken the muscles to improve the range of motion and stiffness. Muscle-relaxing drugs such as baclofen can help with stiffness and spasms.
- Surgery: Your provider may recommend surgery to improve mobility. Surgeons can lengthen tendons and muscles or repair problems in the spine. Certain patients may benefit from a procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). In SDR, surgeons decrease muscle spasticity in the legs by cutting through overactive nerves in the spine.