Cerebral Palsy Treatment

Physical therapy common deals with strengthening muscles to equal density and preventing atrophy from lack of use. This helps avoid contracture, which occurs when the muscles become fixed in one immobile position. Braces and weight may help muscles grow as fast as the bones do, since children with cerebral palsy generally have slower muscles growth due to spasms within the muscles. If your child has problems with reflexes, doctors may recommend the Baboth technique, which sets them in the opposite position and prevents the spastic movement.

As a child with cerebral palsy gets older, the types of physical therapy they need do change. To teach children important skills like walking and cutting with scissors, doctors may use a patterning technique, which organizes that skill with a certain series of movement. The focus of physical therapy may also shift to include speech therapy and fine motor skills coordination, such as for writing. Finally, a child may need emotional counseling or attendant living to help with daily tasks that become essential to adults with cerebral palsy.

With many important discoveries, several medications for controlling the symptoms of cerebral palsy are now available to patients of every type. Generally, the physician will choose one or more medicines to control the seizures and spasms associated with cerebral palsy. These medications moderate the impulses from the brain that tell the muscles to contract and prevent sudden, involuntary movements. Alcohol injections to a specific muscle may also be used to temporarily weaken it for physical therapy.
Also important in the treatment of cerebral palsy are the many mechanical devices that have been invented to compensate for brain damage and affects of cerebral palsy. Hearing aids and special braces can help a child maintain normal skills despite lacking the muscles. Even computers are useful in treating cerebral palsy, because in the most severe cases, a light pointer can be used to help quadriplegic children communicate movements to those around them.

Finally, doctors may opt for surgery to correct severe cases of muscle contraction where the muscles do not grow at the same rate as the bone. To pinpoint the exact muscle for surgery, doctors may use a series of camera-observed tests that note the motion patterns of each muscle in a movement like walking. Doctors may then lengthen the muscle manually or moderate the amount of nervous system signals that reach the muscle and stimulate movement. These are usually followed by a lengthy period of recovery, to allow the child the best chance at regaining a normal lifestyle.