Rehabilitation for children with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a condition in which the brain is unable to control the functioning of the motor nerves in the body. It is characterized by improper movement and co-ordination. Cerebral palsy is detected at early childhood or at birth. It is seen that the muscles of the affected person become stiff, some involuntary movements occur; it is difficult for him to walk, eat or talk. In some case mental retardation is also noticed.

Early development of hands, unusual posture, abnormal muscle tone and development delay are some of the symptoms that help to determine the condition of cerebral palsy. Suffering children are slow in reflex actions like smiling, crawling, walking or rolling over.

They may also have the problem of hypertonia (increased muscular tone that makes the muscles stiff or rigid) or hypotonia (decreased muscular tone that makes the muscles relaxed or flaccid). A very strange fact about this condition is that the muscle co-ordination doesn’t worsen with time. To diagnose this problem doctors check for the respond to the stimulus, the reflex actions, and early development of hand. At advanced levels, CT scan, MRI scan and ultrasonography are used.

This condition has different affect on different individuals depending upon the part of brain damaged in each case. Since the problem varies from person to person so does the treatment. Therefore, treatment of cerebral palsy is a diverse field of study. Over 8,000 children in America alone are diagnosed for this disease and this make the research in this field the need of the hour. Till the present date, much advancement has been made in this regard. There are several therapies for the treatment of cerebral palsy. Each therapy aims to make the patient achieve highest degree of independence.

One of the most common and fundamental therapies is physical therapy. In this therapy the patient is taught the basic motor movements very slowly and steadily. This improves the flexibility, strength, mobility and functioning of muscles. Either this therapy may be carried out in clinics, hospitals, schools or the guardians or caretakers can be taught the therapy treatment. Another therapy used for the treatment is occupational therapy.

It sharpens the ability of motor movement by teaching actions used in daily live. They provide the patient with right kind of equipment like special spoons for feeding, toys that enhance their motor movements, wheelchairs, pushchairs. These are very helpful in reducing the disabling affects.

Exercise therapy is another treatment where a patient is taught indoor and outdoor games by the therapists. It is seen that blood and oxygen supply to the brain increases when we do any physical exercise. And also, playing games relives our mental stress, rejuvenates our mind and reduces anxiety. That is why this therapy proves to be very beneficial. Mostly the patients are taught swimming because the movement in water is easier.

If in case speech problems arise as a consequence of cerebral palsy then speech and language therapy is available as treatment. Sometimes it is advisable to take hippo therapy in which the patient rides a horse back. Horseback riding improves the walking posture of the patient to a great extent. Among the lately developed techniques are Therapeutic electrical stimulation (TES) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). Any of these mentioned techniques are most commonly followed for the treatment of cerebral palsy.

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