There are certain disorders that can not be called a disease in the proper sense of the term. Cerebral palsy is one of those conditions. A person suffering from it can not move properly due to a brain injury.Incidentally, victims of this condition may develop different complications.

Cerebral Palsy has some variations and people affected by them suffer from diverse problems. It all varies on the damaged part of his or her brain. It falls in the segment of non-progressive disorders which denotes that the damaging of the brain will not progress in future but the victim can develop organ disorders. It was known as Cerebral Paralysis in the early days.

What Are the Variations of Cerebral Palsy?

One major variant of this condition is known as Spastic cerebral palsy. It makes some body muscles stiff, rigid and weak. These make the affected person hardly able to move. The 70% people suffering from CP fall under this variant. In Athetoid cerebral palsy, the affected person loses the control of his muscles. In another type called mixed cerebral palsy, the aforesaid symptoms can be mixed. People suffering from Ataxic cerebral palsy face problems in maintaining balance and delivering speech.

Cerebral Palsy Symptoms

The symptoms of Cerebral palsy vary according to the type and in some cases they can take months to become noticeable. The limbs tend to become stiff and the victim fails to move them as he wants. The muscles of the mouth may become affected which results in feeding difficulties and vomiting.

The affected people may develop an unusual way of walking and may suffer from speech deficiency disorders. Some patients also suffer from epilepsy. Performing commonplace and mundane chores like writing, dressing and bathing can become an ordeal for these people. The organs like ear and eye may also be affected and a victim may also feel difficulty in maintaining postures. However, a child suffering from CP may have learning difficulties but that does not mean he can not have intellect.

Bone related ailments like osteoporosis and arthritis may occur in the victims of cerebral palsy earlier than usual. Some babies born with this disorder may have spinal curvature and smaller jawbone.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy takes place when a person’s brain is improperly developed or undergoes some form of damage. This may happen both before and after the birth. The babies born prematurely also face the risk of developing this condition. Severe infection in a baby’s early days may also lead to the menace.

Cerebral Palsy Treatment

Unfortunately, Cerebral palsy has no specific cures. On the other hand, a number of therapies are available that can be applied to diminish the impacts of this condition on a person. Doctors rely on physiotherapy, speech therapy as well as occupational therapy for treating cases of cerebral palsy. In any case, if a child affected by cerebral palsy receives support from the early stages he can improve better.

A new approach called conductive education is being implemented in treating children affected by this condition nowadays. This is known to help them override movement related problems to some extent. Even the adults can obtain benefit from this method. The language and speech therapy aids a patient in drinking, eating along with speech development.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is another latest method of treatment that has shown positive results in reducing the level of spasticity in the affected children. Botox injections have been administered in some cases to loosen stiff and rigid muscle of the victims with mixed results.

Some patients have to undergo surgery in order to rectify any deformity developed due to irregular muscle functioning. Medication is used in some instances to mitigate spasticity and muscle hyperactivity. The occupational therapies on the other hand enable the affected children to win over the hardships of doing everyday tasks so that they can live without depending on others. It has been observed that many patients of cerebral palsy can lead almost a normal life if they are provided with some assistance and try hard.

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