Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain.
Several factors contribute to cerebral palsy. Periventricular leukomalacia, perinatal ischemia, anoxia, perinatal infections, iatrogenic effects of drugs, multiple births and fetal thrombophilia, head injuries, infections or other forms of brain damage can cause cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy hinders a child’s development, which may persist into adulthood. Infants with cerebral palsy have problems learning motor skills such as crawling or walking. Cerebral palsy can be classified based on the affected muscles or the location of the brain injury.
Types of Cerebral Palsy
The muscles affected in quadriplegia. Specifically, muscles of the trunk, arms, legs and face may be affected resulting in gross and fine motor problems, and eating and speech problems. The legs are affected in diplegia. Children with diplegia may have sitting, standing or walking problems because co-ordination and balance are not well developed or the muscles are spastic. One side of the body such as the arm or leg is affected in hemiplegia. Independent walking may be delayed because of weakness, poor co-ordination or spasticity of the leg muscles. The affected hand may have limited use and the one-sided disability may be compensated by the unaffected arm.
Eighty percent of affected children have spasticity or suffer from this type of cerebral palsy – pyramidal cerebral palsy. Children with pyramidal cerebral palsy have tight muscles, which limit movements, and involuntary movements. Ten percent of these children suffer from extrapyramidal cerebral palsy. Children with extrapyramidal cerebral palsy have low muscle tone, cannot control the muscles effectively and have involuntary movements such as athetosis, ataxia, dystonia and chorea. Movements are slow and writhing in athetosis; unsteady, shaky and lack co-ordination in ataxia; slow, rhythmic and twisting in dystonia; and abrupt, quick and jerky in chorea. The remaining 10 percent suffer from mixed-type cerebral palsy. Children suffering from mixed-type cerebral palsy have spastic muscles and involuntary movements.
Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy in Children
Children with cerebral palsy often experience pain. Muscle weakness, lack of tone to muscle spasticity and development delays are common musculoskeletal symptoms in infants. Drooling, speech impairment, hand tremors, sleep disturbances, seizures, bowel and bladder control problems are other musculoskeletal symptoms. Spasticity, weakness and deterioration of upper extremity function are neurological symptoms.
References
Frontera, W. & Silver, J. & Rizzo, T. (2008). Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Elsevier Health Sciences. Philadelphia.
Martin, S. (2006). Teaching Motor Skills to Children with Cerebral Palsy and Similar Movement Disorders. Woodbine House. U.S.A.
Leon Becker - Leon Becker leon@raisesavvykids.com
