Danny Burle asked:


There may be no cure for cerebral palsy but treatment for cerebral palsy is possible. Parents who seek treatment for their children need to know a couple of basic facts about cerebral palsy treatment.

Goals of Treatment

Present research offers no immediate cerebral palsy cure. Parents may therefore wonder what treatment is for. Although treatment cannot cure the condition, it has some other benefit. Treatment can help individuals with cerebral palsy use their limbs to the utmost possible. Treatment therefore aims to maintain bone strength, improve flexibility, improve coordination and correct postures and alignment. The end result is an individual who is able to care for himself and function in society. The rate of progress and treatment success depend on the severity of the condition of a patient.

Multidisciplinary Approach

Treatment for cerebral palsy has to be planned. The planning and execution is done by experts in various fields. This means that more than one expert may have to be consulted for your child’s treatment. The number of experts and the duration of treatment would depend on your child’s condition.

Even with expert help however, parents may have to participate in the program. After all, activities such as play, bathing and feeding are executed at home and not with therapists. Parents therefore need to learn how respond to the needs of their child while at the same time fostering as much independence as possible.

Therapy

One top treatment for cerebral palsy is therapy. For some patients this may be all they would ever need. Physical therapists help patients achieve flexibility and optimum use of their muscles and bones. This may be done through a series of special exercises for muscle toning.

Occupational therapists may also be needed. These are the experts who assist cerebral palsy patients in learning to participate in daily home and school activities. Various activities may be devised to help individuals learn how to use their limbs in such activities as dressing up, writing, walking, sitting and feeding oneself.

Medications

Some patients may require medicines as part of their treatment for cerebral palsy. They may be prescribed to help ease rigid muscles and limit tremors. The usual problem with medications is the side effects. A person who may already have a hard time with movement may have to deal with possible physical discomforts such as headaches and nausea.

Surgery

Surgical procedures may be resorted to only in some cases. They may be needed to ensure better bone placement. In some cases, surgery may be used to reduce the symptoms of those with spastic cerebral palsy. As with every other condition however, surgery is always a last resort when nothing else will work.

Gadgets and Devices

Depending on a child’s condition, certain equipment may have to be used. Braces are the most common devices used. Aside from these, patients may also need wheelchairs and communication devices.

There is always hope for kids with cerebral palsy. Getting into the right treatment for cerebral palsy can help ensure that kids can function normally in life.



Cynthia

Low Jeremy asked:


Cerebral palsy is a neurological disease that is characterized by low or non-coordination of muscles to body movements. The disease is caused by a partial or total damage to the brain during the early stages of life. There are instances that infants that are not yet born, those still inside the womb may acquire such disease when proper care of the mother is not done.

The word cerebral is a term used by medical people to talk about the brain. The word is an adjective of cerebrum, a part of the brain that is responsible from sending neurons to the muscles. It is the one that lets human move. The term palsy on the other hand, means posture or movement disorder. Summing up the two terms and their meaning, one can arrive at one concrete meaning. Cerebral palsy based on the analogy is a disorder or imbalance in the muscle movement due to low or non-coordination of the brain.

Because the disease mostly develops during the early stages of life, the primary victims of such disease or disorder are the infants. When an infant experiences difficulty in breathing, in suckling or can bowel easily during first weeks of child birth, the same must be carefully observed. The following biological process involves the movement of the muscle. If those processes respond negatively there is a higher possibility that the child has cerebral palsy.

Infants are generally not easy to take care of. They have no natural communicating device except their baby cries. Cerebral palsied infants need extra care due to their low or non-reaction of the brain. Here are some tips to be done in proper caring for a cerebral palsied infant:

• Do not be intimidated or be shy in asking your paediatrician for the proper care of your child. There are special treatments that must be done to affect infants but you need to know it through your paediatrician. Since cerebral palsy is directly connected to body movements and the brain, there are brain and muscle therapies that are needed to be done but with the supervision or upon the prescription of professional practitioners.

• Be sensitive to your baby’s movements or reactions. Infants affected by cerebral palsy may cry often due to inability to physically react to brain. You must not take your child’s needs for granted.

• Treat your baby the normal way. Play with him. It is very important to have time for your child when you can bond with him. Psychologically, it will help your child.

Cerebral palsied infants are no ordinary babies but need to be regarded as normal. Special care and attention is needed. You can have them treated fully or at least partially.



Tom

Low Jeremy asked:


Cerebral Palsy is the disorder that every parent should always watch out whenever their new child is still carried within the mother’s womb or being born. It may impair certain abilities of the child such as motor and learning skills. Diagnosing the child for any signs of cerebral palsy will be of great help in determining the proper treatment for him/her.

The question that will certainly pop-up instantly in your mind is “what are the signs that may indicate the possibility of a child to have cerebral palsy?” Although the exact cause has yet to be determined, the signs that will be discussed in this article can give you a hint if your child is suffering from cerebral palsy or not. Read on and learn more about the signs.

There are different signs which may determine the presence of cerebral palsy depends on the child’s age. A newly-born infant may show the following signs which are an indication of cerebral palsy presence in him/her?

• Suckling difficulties;

• Abnormality and breathing; or

• Bowel evacuating.

As the infant grows, there are other signs to look out such as the consistent use of the half part of the body compared to the other half and favoring a particular posture compared to the other one. The infant who is usually stiff, lacking any ****** expressions, disorganized eye movements, head movements not following where a particular sound came from, and lack of any active response to any level of human voice can give you a cue if something is wrong.

In addition, if the child is having difficulty to perform basic movements such as rolling, crawling, smiling, and walking suggest possible presence of cerebral palsy. His/her hands are shaking. Making it difficult for them to grasp and play with their toys.

Other cerebral palsy signs also depend on the type the child is suffering into. The following are summary of the possible symptoms for each type of cerebral palsy:

• A child suffering from spastic diplegics has the typical scissors gait where the legs are crossing at the knees.

• If he/she has spastic hemiparesis, he/she may have uncontrollable tremors on the other half of his/her body.

• Athetoid cerebral palsy-affected children have difficulty in writing as well as movements on their extremities.

• Ataxic cerebral palsy-affected children are experiencing difficulty in executing basic motor tasks such as buttoning shirts and tremors also occurs while doing voluntary movements.

Always remember that once you have noticed any signs present on your child, he/she must be brought immediately to your physician for more accurate diagnosis.



Bradley

Jennifer Petry asked:


Understanding cerebral palsy is the first step towards preventing it. Cerebral palsy is a condition when muscle movements and posture is affected (palsy) due to brain damage (cerebral). Unlike chicken pox or measles, cerebral palsy is not a disease but it is a condition. It is not communicable and although there is no cure it is not progressive, as brain damage does not increase over time.

Around a hundred and fifty years ago an English surgeon named William Little first documented and collected information on a peculiar condition that affected children in their early years leading to stiff, spastic muscles in their legs and to a lesser degree their arms. Little found that this condition did not worsen over the years nor did it improve. This condition, known for many years as Little’s disease, is today known as spastic diplegia, one of several types of cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a very diverse and complex condition with different people being affected differently. Each specific case is, therefore, as individualistic as the individual patients themselves. It is characterized by an inability to fully control motor function, particularly muscle control and coordination.

Depending on which areas of the brain have been damaged, one or more of the following may occur: muscle tightness or spasticity; involuntary movement; disturbance in gait (walk) or mobility, difficulty in swallowing and problems with speech. In addition, the following symptoms are sometimes associated with cerebral palsy: abnormal sensation and perception; impairment of sight, hearing or speech; seizures; and/or mental retardation. Other problems that may arise are difficulties in feeding, bladder and bowel control, problems with breathing because of postural difficulties, skin disorders because of pressure sores, and learning disabilities.

Despite the pain and suffering that cerebral palsy patients and their caregivers have to bear, the most heartening thing about this disorder is that today there are many measures that can be taken to try and prevent its onset. Tests and prenatal care can prepare a woman and alert her when possible causes arise.

Pregnant women are tested routinely for the Rh factor and, if Rh negative, they can be immunized within 72 hours after the birth (or after the pregnancy terminates) and thereby prevent adverse consequences of blood incompatibility in a subsequent pregnancy. If the woman has not been immunized, the consequences of blood incompatibility in the newborn can be prevented by exchange transfusion in the baby. If a newborn baby has jaundice, this can be treated with phytotherapy (light therapy), which breaks down the bilirubin around the brain. Immunization against measles for all women who have not had measles and are susceptible to becoming pregnant is an essential preventative measure.

Other preventative programs as well as facts about cerebral palsy are directed towards the prevention of prematurity; reducing the exposure of pregnant women to virus and other infections; recognition and treatment of bacterial infection of the maternal reproductive and urinary tracts; avoiding unnecessary exposure to X-rays, drugs and medications; and the control of diabetes, anemia and nutritional deficiencies. Of great importance is optimal well being prior to conception, adequate prenatal care, and protecting infants from accidents or injury.

Although incurable, the disorder can be treated and managed to provide relief to patients. With doctors accumulating new knowledge and information about the disorder every passing day, new techniques and treatments are coming to the fore. Botox, or botulism toxin, is the newest treatment to show high success rates. The Botulism toxin relieves cerebral palsy symptoms by reducing tightness in muscles, which allows better control of movement, and increasing the stretch of muscles, reducing the risk of permanent muscle contractions. In recent tests, some children were even able to write with a pen or use a computer touch screen to communicate for the first time. The continuous finding of new information on cerebral palsy leaves the door wide open for the future of cerebral palsy treatment.



Leslie

jane n asked:


i work in a rehabilitation center as an occupational therapist, i want to mark OT month april on one day 2 hrs time period, with the children who are cerebral palsied, and aged between 2yrs and 12yrs. my target is work collegues and the parents and the teachers. Place is saudi arabia, jeddah city.

Johnny