Spastic Cerebral Palsy Essay

Cerebral palsy refers to a group of chronic disorders that involve degrees of brain damage that affect body control and movement. The term cerebral refers to the brain, while palsy describes a disorder that impairs the control of body movement. These disorders are not the result of muscles or nerves problems. Instead, they are due to impaired motor areas in the brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and posture. The condition typically appears within the first few years of life and it is not marked by regression. (Mecham, 1986)

Spastic cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that unfolds in the developing brain - either right before birth or shortly after, typically before the child turns one year of age. Head injuries that occur several weeks after birth may also cause spastic cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy makes up roughly eighty percent of all cerebral palsy cases, since there are other types; spastic is considered to be the most common. Spastic cerebral palsy causes neuromuscular mobility impairment meaning that there is a lack in connection between the nerves and muscles.

The human body is made up of many organ systems that consist of organs and tissues of different anatomies and diverse nomenclature. These organs systems, organs and tissues are prone to thousands of diseases, and one of these diseases is cerebral palsy, which is a disease of the nervous system in simple terms. Research relating to cerebral palsy is carried out, whereby the disorder is described, along with its history, and how it affects the nervous system and the brain. The anatomy of the body systems involves with regard to this disorder, the effects of the disorder on these body systems and other body systems are also researched and discussed. Furthermore, the research focuses on the causes of cerebral palsy, its complications, signs, and symptoms, and the diagnosis of the disorder, along with its treatment and side effects of the treatment. A recap of the research focusing on prevention strategies, the anatomy and physiology of cerebral palsy and the nervous system is presented.

Cerebral palsy cannot be cured although early support and therapeutic intervention can help children’s development.

As a PA I deal with clients with cerebral palsy according to nature and extent of their deformity. I always ensure that I use effective communication skills when assisting people to move or reposition.

The bus came to pick up Thomas, the bus he caught with all the other loony kids. Bucko, James and I loved messing with them, especially Bucko, as he imitated their stumbling and stuttering. When Bucko lifted his shirt up encouragingly towards the girl in the bus, she lifted hers as well. We all exclaimed in celebration. Just as Thomas walks past, James calls to him, “Look Thomas, it’s the spastic bus, they’ve come to pick you up! Thomas walked past, grimacing, clearly annoyed. The bus goes, leaving one spastic kid behind. The kid hugs Jackie as if they know eachother. Thomas whispers fiercely to the kid; “What are you doing? Get back on the bus!” “Spastic! Think it’s his brother.” I say. As more people gathered around the scene, he becomes

A person with this diagnosis will see a variety of health care providers throughout their life. Some of these may be Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Neurologists. Physical Therapists will help each patient to learn how to be as functional as possible with their condition. Many patients will have to walk with an assistive device or even wear a leg brace. Gait training is very important for patients with Spastic Diplegia. Patients that are diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia can have complete paralysis or muscle weakness in both lower extremities. This often results in asymmetries on the right or left lower extremity. Therefore, when a person with Spastic Diplegia walks they will repeat movements irregularly, and this can lead to them developing secondary disabilities. 6(p1) A person with Spastic Diplegia can expect to see a Physical Therapist on and off for their life due to the fact that physical therapy can help them in so many different ways. Some doctors are prescribing certain medications, such as muscle relaxers, to help with spastic muscles or even giving their patients Botox injections in the tight muscles. This is a form of treatment that Brenna is now undergoing. The Botox shot is injected into the tight muscles and is supposed to help these muscles be able to relax. The words “Cerebral Palsy” and “Spastic Diplegia” can be very scary when they are used to diagnose somebody

The concept of time is a phenomenon that has been met with much discourse, but is also an invaluable commodity. I began to understand how much of a commodity time is when I was in seventh grade. That was the year my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I witnessed a man recovering from bankruptcy, struggling to support a family with five children, while attempting to pass his medical board exams, defeat all odds. By the end of that year all of those obstacles were no more, and with the help of my mother they were able to move us out of that socioeconomic environment. That’s when I understood what time meant to me, opportunity. After witnessing my father battle I vowed to never quit and to make the most of my time. Through medicine my

Imagine you know someone with Cerebral Palsy. This could be someone who has a hard time hearing or even communicating with others. On a regular day for a child who has Cerebral Palsy may not always be able to do what other children or adults do in their ordinary life. For example, Cerebral Palsy children may not be able to walk like a regular person, or ride a bike like a regular child. In order to control Cerebral Palsy there are multiple treatments such as the baclofen pump. This treatment is more likely to be successful, rather than the Botox injections and phenol blocks. It has been proven that the baclofen pump is more likely to be successful at helping anyone with Cerebral Palsy. Although, there are several different types and causes of Cerebral Palsy that someone could develop. These causes are Terminology, Dysgensis, Periventricular Leukomalacia, and Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopath. I will be explaining each and every one of them more in detail. With these causes, there are different treatments that could be used to treat the causes. These causes include Botox Injections, Phenol Blocks, Baclofen Orally, and Intrathecal Baclofen. Later on, I will be explaining the pro’s and con’s of each one.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are genetically heterogeneous disorders, which are characterized by lower extremity spasticity and weakness. HSP is often caused by mutations in SPG genes, but it may be also produced by inborn errors of metabolism [1,2]. Next generation sequencing (NGS) is helpful for investigating patients in whom genetics does not fully meets the clinical presentation. We performed NGS in adult twins and found compound pathogenic mutations in MTHFR and POLG1 genes, which were consistent with metabolic changes, including hyperhomocysteinemia decreased activity of MTHFR and mitochondrial respiratory chain.

The reason for this is because measuring treatment outcomes in people living with cerebral palsy is already difficult but it is even more so in those living with spastic quadriplegia. “Unlike an ambulant child, where changes can be seen in gait parameters, oxygen cost, and gait velocity, the child with spastic quadriplegia may show changes only in measures of impairment such as the modified Ashworth scale, Tardieu scale, or joint range of motion. It is difficult to measure change in the level of function or disability in the child with moderate to severe spasticity” (Gormley 2001). This being said, the need for clinical trials to assess management results for severely involved patients is still necessary. Designing studies that “employ standard enrolment criteria across centres, apply interventions in a standardized manner, utilize control groups and validated outcome measures, including measures of cost effectiveness and patient satisfaction” may be difficult, but are entirely necessary in order to justify the new approach to treatment that is suggested in this article (Gormley 2001).

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of inherited (genetically) heterogeneous neurologic disorders identified by lower limb muscle weakness and spasticity (Fink JK, 2000). Symptoms slowly advance, eventually leading to patients requiring a walking aid such as a cane or walker or a wheelchair if the disability is more severe. There are more than 70 different genes that cause this disorder. Complicated forms of the disorder can often lead to other symptoms such as retinopathy, epilepsy, peripheral neuropathy, mental retardation and deafness. Most individuals with uncomplicated forms of the disorder i.e. no other accompanying neurologic abnormalities have a normal life expectancy (Ninds.nih.gov, 2017). HSPs affect 3-10 per 100,000

Today there are many severe disability’s that effect individuals on a daily basis. Cerebral Palsy is a condition eliminates control over a person’s movements and the way the body works. The movement disorder is non curable but can be helped with appropriate assistive technology. In this paper you will learn more about Cerebral Palsy, broadening your knowledge on the disease and giving you a better understanding in your respected field of the rehabilitation.

Different therapies have been used as a complementary or alternative form of medicine. Some clinical therapy trials have not been recognized by the mainstream because so of the results have come back inconclusive or showed no benefit. Although some therapies have shown an improvement in cerebral palsy cases especially in children, these therapies have still not been recognized by the food and drug administration as an aid for cerebral palsy. Some of these therapies include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, resistance clothing during exercise, forms of electrical stimulation, assistance in completing certain movements several times a day, and specialized learning strategies (Cerebral Palsy: Hope Through Research, 2016) . Dietary supplements, herbal

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is brain damage. It cannot be cured, it is not contagious, it is not a disease, and it does not get worse. According to Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, "Cerebral Palsy is a broad term for various nonprogressive disorders of motor function in people, resulting from brain damage around the time of birth. Damage to the brain could occur before, during, or shortly after birth"(“Cerebral”). Since the damage is done during the brain’s formation, and occurs in the part of the brain that controls motor and muscle functions, people with CP might have problems with motor skills, muscle tone, muscle weakness, reflexes, balance, excessive drooling, difficulties swallowing or speaking, shaking, tremors, and