Cerebral palsy: causes and treatment

Cerebral Palsy

General

Cerebral palsy is a permanent but not unchangeable movement or posture disorder in children. It is the most common type of physical disability in children.

Causes of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage in early childhood. This damage can have various causes. Most often it occurs during childbirth due to a significant lack of oxygen in the child. Prenatal damage to the child’s brain can be caused by bacterial or viral infections, but also by the mother’s drug, alcohol and nicotine consumption during pregnancy. After birth, the cause is diseases of the meninges or cerebral hemorrhage. All causes destroy nerve cells in the brain and lead to movement or posture disorders in children.

Symptoms  of cerebral palsy

Due to the early childhood brain damage, motor development is very slow. Affected infants often have reduced body tension when being picked up or turned over, but also when they are crawling, crawling and walking independently. In some cases, these possibilities for movement are greatly delayed or even not achieved at all. The coordination of movements as well as grasping and grasping are also severely restricted.

Treatment of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a permanent but not invariable developmental disorder. The earlier neurophysiological early treatment is started, the greater the success of the therapy in improving function. Neurophysiological treatment is primarily about training and improving existing skills, as well as perfecting and accelerating movement sequences. In addition to the movement and posture disorders, other disabilities such as epilepsy, speech disorders or sensory disabilities can occur. However, this depends on the type and severity of the early childhood brain damage.