This article provides a brief overview of cerebral palsy and related information that might be helpful to the sufferer or their family and friends. For more detailed information, contact your doctor or local support group.

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral refers to the brain and Palsy refers to poor muscle control or weakness. Cerebral palsy (CP) is not a disease, but rather a term used to describe a group of disorders resulting from a defect in one or more areas of the brain that occurs before birth or in childhood. Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive condition as brain damage is a single occurrence and although the affected brain cells will not be repaired, other brain cells will continue to develop and function. Therefore, a patient’s intelligence is generally not diminished by the condition.

The following are common causes of CP;

• Insufficient oxygen reaching the baby during pregnancy and delivery

• Maternal infection during pregnancy (eg, German measles)

• Premature birth or low birth weight

• Blood group incompatibility between mother and baby

• Severe jaundice after childbirth

• Head injuries or service illnesses in early childhood

• Genetic disorders

What are the symptoms of CP?

Stiffness of movement, muscle weakness, difficulty with balance, slowness, and tremors are common symptoms of CP. Some patients experience only mild symptoms in a limb, while others will be severely disabled and the entire body affected. The four types of CP are;

• Spastic cerebral palsy

This is the most common form of cerebral palsy occurring in 70-80% of cases. People with this form of cerebral palsy are hypertonic, which means they have increased muscle tension and a decreased ability to stretch their muscles; people who suffer from it may appear stiff or rigid.

• Athetoid cerebral palsy (dyskinetic)

People with anthetoid (dyskinetic) cerebral palsy have a mixture of increased and decreased muscle tone. Posture and the ability to sit or stand will be affected, and patients will experience slow, involuntary movements of the arms, hands, and legs, as well as possible facial grimacing and drooling. Fine motor skills, speaking, eating, and swallowing may be limited.

• Ataxic cerebral palsy

Ataxic cerebral palsy affects 5-10% of cerebral palsy patients. The symptoms usually appear in the legs, arms and sometimes the torso, with a lack of balance, coordination and low muscle tone. Patients with ataxic cerebral palsy typically have a broad-based gait (walk) and are very unsteady and shaky.

• Mixed cerebral palsy

Mixed CP cases affect approximately 10% of patients. The most common combination is spastic and athetoid CP, but other combinations are possible. Some patients may be affected by all three types of cerebral palsy.

What treatments are available for CP patients?

There is currently no cure for PC. The main treatment is physiotherapy to strengthen muscle groups and develop motor skills. Therapeutic electrical stimulation (TES) can be given to patients while they sleep to increase muscle fiber, but it has been found that patients require physical therapy in conjunction with the use of a TES machine to benefit from it. Patients also use warm water therapy sessions and horseback riding, as well as Botox injections to freeze muscles affected by spastic movement.

People with mild cerebral palsy can usually get by on their own, while people with more severe disabilities can find bed risers, a shower chair, walkers, and grab bars for the wall.