WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? I Cerebral Palsy Symptoms-Types-Treatment- Causes I Spastic Cerebral Palsy
CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person's ability to control his or her muscles.
What is the main cause of cerebral palsy?
Causes of acquired cerebral palsy may include; Brain damage in the first few months or years of life. Infections, such as meningitis or encephalitis. Problems with blood flow to the brain due to stroke, blood clotting problems, abnormal blood vessels, a heart defect that was present at birth, or sickle cell disease.
How long can you live with cerebral palsy?
Although there have been no general studies of life expectancy in people with cerebral palsy, most children affected by CP live between 30 and 70 years, depending on the severity of the condition.
Is cerebral palsy a physical disability?
Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that affects movement and posture. Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term that refers to a group of disorders affecting a person's ability to move. It is due to damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
How does cerebral palsy affect a person?
Because of how CP affects the brain, a person might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or move the way most people do. CP affects a person's muscle tone and ability to coordinate body movements.
Can CP be cured?
There is no cure for CP, but a child's quality of life can improve with: treatment that may involve surgery. therapy, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.
Is Cerebral Palsy painful?
Spasticity, the most common form of Cerebral Palsy, causes pain because it causes functional problems that can lead to contractures and cartilage degeneration.
Does cerebral palsy affect IQ?
They find it difficult to sit straight or walk. Some children have problems hearing, controlling their breathing, and/or coordinating the muscle movements required for speaking. Intelligence is rarely affected in these forms of cerebral palsy. Ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance and depth perception.
Can you walk with cerebral palsy?
Children with Cerebral Palsy can never learn to walk.
While they may walk slowly or with a different gait, children with cerebral palsy may indeed learn to walk independently.
What are the 4 types of cerebral palsy?
Medical experts recognize four main types of cerebral palsy; they are: Spastic, Athetoid, Ataxic and Mixed. Physicians consider the main type of movement disorder associated with the condition to diagnose types of cerebral palsy in their patients.
Can a child outgrow cerebral palsy?
Though one cannot outgrow cerebral palsy, the symptoms can definitely change as we age. As we get older, the disorder does not get “worse”, but there can be shifts in symptoms and severity.
Can cerebral palsy get worse with age?
Cerebral palsy is a “non-progressive” disorder. This means that as children get older, their CP will not worsen.
Can you live a normal life with cerebral palsy?
Embracing Life With CP
Fortunately, CP is not thought to impact life expectancy. Adults with CP have a life expectancy comparable to that of the general population.
At what age does cerebral palsy appear?
The signs of cerebral palsy usually appear in the first few months of life, but many children are not diagnosed until age 2 or later.
What is the prognosis for a person with cerebral palsy?
Children with mild forms of cerebral palsy have a normal life expectancy. For example, a two year-old child with mild palsy has a 99% chance of living to the age of 20, compared with a patient who has severe disease, where the figure may be as low as 40%.
What are the symptoms of cerebral palsy?
Some of the more common signs include:
delays in reaching motor skill milestones, such as rolling over, sitting up alone, or crawling
variations in muscle tone, such as being too floppy or too stiff
delays in speech development and difficulty speaking
spasticity, or stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes
ataxia, or a lack of muscle coordination
What causes cerebral palsy?
Abnormal brain development or injury to the developing brain can cause CP. The damage affects the part of the brain that controls body movement, coordination, and posture.
The brain damage usually occurs before birth, but it can also happen during birth or the first years of life. In most cases, the exact cause of CP isn’t known.
Who’s at risk for cerebral palsy?
Certain factors put babies at an increased risk for CP. These include:
premature birth
low birth weight
being a twin or triplet
a low Apgar score, which is used to assess the physical health of babies at birth
How is cerebral palsy classified?
Cerebral palsy is classified according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS).
