What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability of childhood. It occurs in about three out of every 1,000 live births. Cerebral refers to the brain, and palsy refers to muscle weakness and poor coordination. It is shortly called CP. Cerebral palsy is a broad term that describes a group of neurological disorders that affect the child’s body movement and posture as a result of damage happen in the developing brain. It is a lifetime condition. The child’s problem with movement and posture makes certain activities difficult for him
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What are the types of cerebral palsy?
As already mentioned cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for neurological disorders. Depending on the impact it is again broadly divided into four
Spastic cerebral palsy: This is the most common type of Cerebral Palsy. This type of cerebral palsy causes muscle stiffness, making the movement difficult. In some cases, this type of cerebral palsy will make the move rather impossible.
Athetoid/Dyskinetic cerebral palsy: This type of cerebral palsy is characterized by abnormal, involuntary movement.
Ataxic cerebral palsy: This type of cerebral palsy is characterized by problems with balance, depth perception, and coordination.
Mixed cerebral palsy: Children who exhibit movement problems that fall into one or more types of cerebral palsy are considered as having mixed cerebral palsy.
What causes cerebral palsy?
A child develops CP when an unusual development or injury happen to parts of the brain that control motor function. Cerebral Palsy does not have a single cause. There are many reasons why someone might have cerebral palsy. Here are some most commonly reported causes:
When the child’s brain doesn’t grow as it should be during pregnancy due to various reasons like the genetic disorder.
When the baby is a preemie and the brain isn’t fully developed
When the mother contracts certain viruses during pregnancy
When the baby’s brain doesn’t get sufficient oxygen due to some complication developed in the course of labor and delivery
When the baby has a stroke during pregnancy or after birth
When the baby undergoes a severe brain infection soon after birth
When the child experiences certain kinds of head injuries in an accident during the early years of life.
What are the symptoms of CP?
Every child experiencing the cerebral palsy exhibits different amalgamation of symptoms. Some symptoms are barely detectable, while others are more intense. We can say that it is the degree of the brain injury eventually determines the symptoms. However, the first sign, in most cases, is the child missing any of the initial developmental milestones like holding the head up. Here are some of the warning signals of CP:
Babies with the cerebral palsy exhibit:
Trouble with feeding, issues with swallowing or sucking
Poor muscle control
Drooling
Low muscle tone
Poor motor skill development
Stiffness in muscle when you try to move their joints.
Older children with CP exhibits additional signs like:
Seizures
Intellectual disability
Lack of coordination and balance
Vision, hearing, or speech problems
Learning disabilities and behavior problems
Respiratory problems
Bowel and bladder problems
Bone abnormalities
Treatment for cerebral palsy:
The treatment relies on different factors like the child’s age, health condition, the severity of the disease, the type of CP, the child’s tolerance for treatment options, and the expectations for the progression of the condition. To a higher extent, any measures that help to manage the CP and helps the child to live independent can be considered as a treatment. Medical specialists who specialized in different fields might be needed to treat and manage different medical conditions of CP.
Some of the treatment options are:
Different kinds of therapy such as learning, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development are beneficial for the child.
Orthopedic surgery is highly beneficial in rectifying dislocated hips and curvature of the spine.
Diets rich in calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus helps to improve the bone health
However, the science has developed significantly in all fields. CP is not an exception. Here comes the latest news.
“There’s some exciting news for families who have children with cerebral palsy. A potential treatment using stem cells could be the first effective way to repair the parts of the brain damaged from the condition”….. The channel CBS NewYork reports.
