children s health issues
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Treatment of Cerebral Palsy
Physical, occupational, and speech therapy Braces Botulinum toxin and other medications to reduce spasticity Sometimes surgery Cerebral palsy cannot be cured, and its problems are lifelong. However, symptoms of cerebral palsy can be managed and much can be done to improve a child's mobility and independence. The goal is to enable children to become as independent as they can be. Physical Therapy (PT) , Constraint-induced movement therapy may help when the disorder does not affect all the limbs. For this therapy, the unaffected limb is restrained during waking hours, except during specific activities, so that children must do tasks with the affected limb. As a result, new pathways for nerve impulses may develop in the brain, enabling children to use the affected limb better. Occupational therapists can help some children learn ways to compensate for their muscle problems and thus do daily activities (such as bathing, eating, and dressing) for themselves. Or therapists may teach children to use devices that help them do these activities. Certain medications may help. When botulinum toxin is injected into muscles, the muscles are less able to pull unevenly on joints and less likely to become permanently shortened (called contractures). Botulinum toxin, the bacterial toxin that causes botulism, works by paralyzing the injected muscles. It is the same drug sold as Botox that is used to treat wrinkles. Another medication may be injected into the nerves that stimulate the affected muscles. This medication slightly damages the nerves, lessening the muscle's pull on the joint. Other medications used to lessen spasticity includebaclofen, benzodiazepines (such asdiazepam),tizanidine, and sometimesdantrolene, all taken by mouth. Some children with severe spasticity benefit from an implantable pump that provides a continuous infusion ofbaclofeninto the fluid around the spinal cord. Surgery may be done to cut or lengthen tendons of the stiff muscles that limit motion. Also, surgeons may connect tendons to a different part of the joint to balance the pull on the joint. Sometimes cutting certain nerve roots coming from the spinal cord (dorsal rhizotomy) reduces the spasticity and may help a few children, especially those who were born prematurely, as long as spasticity affects mainly the legs and mental function is good. Many children with cerebral palsy grow normally and may attend regular schools if they do not have severe intellectual disabilities. Other children require extensive physical therapy, need special education, and are severely limited in activities of daily living, requiring some type of lifelong care and assistance. However, even severely affected children can benefit from education and training, which increase their independence and self-esteem and greatly reduce the burden for family members or other caregivers. Information and counseling are available to parents to help them understand their child's condition and potential and to assist with problems as they arise. Loving parental care combined with assistance from public and private agencies, such as community health agencies, health organizations such asUnited Cerebral Palsy, and vocational rehabilitation organizations, can help children reach their highest potential. 