¡ CEREBRAL PALSY
¡ Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella
term encompassing a group of non-progressive non-contagious conditions that
cause physical disability in human development.Cerebral refers to the cerebrum,
which is the affected area of the brain and palsy refers to disorder of
movement.
¡ CP is caused by damage to the motor
control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy (about
75 percent),
¡ during childbirth (about 5 percent),
¡ or after birth (about 15 percent) up to about
age three.
¡ TYPES
¡ * Spastic hemiplegia (one side being
affected). Generally, injury to muscle-nerves controlled by the brain's left
side will cause a right body deficit, and vice versa.
¡ * Spastic diplegia (the lower extremities
are affected with little to no upper-body spasticity). The most common form of
the spastic forms. Most people with spastic diplegia are fully ambulatory and
have a scissors gait. Flexed knees and hips to varying degrees are common. Hip
problems, dislocations, and in three-quarters of spastic diplegics, also
strabismus (crossed eyes), can be present as well. In addition, these
individuals are often nearsighted. The intelligence of a person with spastic diplegia
is unaffected by the condition.
¡ * Spastic quadriplegia (all four limbs
affected equally). People with spastic quadriplegia are the least likely to be
able to walk, or if they can, to want to walk, because they are too tight and
it is too much effort to do so.
¡ Ataxia type symptoms can be caused by damage to the
cerebellum. Forms of ataxia are less common types of Cerebral Palsy, occurring
in at most 10% of all cases. Some of these individuals have hypotonia and
tremors. Motor skills like writing, typing, or using scissors might be
affected, as well as balance, especially while walking. It is common for
individuals to have difficulty with visual and/or auditory processing of
objects.
¡ Athetoid or dyskinetic is mixed
muscle tone—sometimes hypertonia and sometimes hypotonia (Hypotonia will
usually occur before 1 year old; the muscle tone will be increased with age and
progress to Hypertonia). People with athetoid CP have trouble holding
themselves in an upright, steady position for sitting or walking, and often
show involuntary motions.
¡ TREATMENT
¡ Physical therapy: programs are
designed to encourage the patient to build a strength base for improved gait
and volitional movement, together with stretching programs to limit
contractures. Many experts believe that life-long physical therapy is crucial
to maintain muscle tone, bone structure, and prevent dislocation of the joints.
¡ Occupational therapy helps adults
and children maximise their function, adapt to their limitations and live as
independently as possible.
¡ Orthotic devices such as ankle-foot
orthoses (AFOs) are often prescribed to minimise gait irregularities. AFOs have
been found to improve several measures of ambulation, including reducing energy
expenditure and increasing speed and stride length.
¡ Speech therapy helps control the
muscles of the mouth and jaw, and helps improve communication. talk clearly; and bite, chew and swallow food.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.