Cerebral palsy is damage to the part of the brain that affects movement, invariably the muscles. This can happen before birth, during birth, or during the first few years of a child’s life. It can also occur in a child due to sickness, injury caused by poison or accident, and negligence.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

There are different types of Cerebral palsy which are classified depending on mobility limitations and affected body parts. Each class can vary in symptoms, severity, and treatment. The types include:

1. Spastic
2. Ataxia
3. Athetoid
4. Hypotonic

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Atypical brain development and injury to the developing brain can cause cerebral palsy. However, in most cases, the exact cause of this condition is unknown. The damage affects the part of the brain that controls body movement, coordination, and posture. This brain damage usually occurs before birth, during delivery, or in the first years of life.

Below listed are some more possible other causes of cerebral palsy:

• head injuries as a result of a car accident, fall, or child abuse
• intracranial hemorrhage, or bleeding into the brain
• brain infections, such as encephalitis and meningitis
• infections acquired in the womb, such as German measles and herpes simplex
• asphyxia neonatorum, or a lack of oxygen to the brain during labor and delivery
• gene mutations that result in atypical brain development
• severe jaundice in the infant

Common Signs and Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can differ from person to person and range from mild to severe. The effects of the condition can become more or less obvious and limiting as a child develops and arises motor skills. They also vary depending on the affected part of the brain.

Some of the symptoms include:

• delays in reaching motor skill milestones, such as rolling over, sitting up alone, or crawling
• difficulty walking
• variations in muscle tone, such as being too floppy or too stiff
• stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes
• lack of muscle coordination
• tremors or involuntary movements
• delays in speech development and difficulty speaking
• excessive drooling and problems with swallowing
• neurological issues, such as seizures, intellectual disabilities, and blindness

Developmental Delays in Children with Cerebral Palsy

The developmental classification that can be impacted by cerebral palsy include:

1. Gross motor skills: Gross motor skills enable children to reach significant milestones, such as head control, sitting, crawling, and walking. If a child shows signs of developmental delays, their doctor should recommend interventions such as physical therapy.
2. Language skills: Few kids with cerebral palsy have language disorders and speech delays. And children who face difficulty with language production and comprehension or struggle with swallowing may benefit from speech therapy.
3. Sensory Skills: A child with cerebral palsy may have difficulty processing information from the senses, like tasting, hearing, seeing, touching, and smelling, and this is called a sensory processing disorder. Children with sensory processing disorders may be hypersensitive, which means they have an increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli, or hyposensitive, which means they are less responsive to sensory stimuli.
4. Vision and hearing problems: children with cerebral palsy also have vision and hearing problems. Commonly associated vision impairments include strabismus and refractive errors. Hearing impairments are often sensorineural, which are caused by damage to the inner ear, brain, or neural pathways.
5. Social, behavioral and emotional development: These problems are not caused by cerebral palsy but may be caused by the same underlying brain damage or abnormality.

Treatment options for Cerebral Palsy

• Physical therapy: Muscle training and exercises to improve strength, balance, and mobility; Braces and splints may be recommended.
• Occupational therapy: Guiding the patient using alternative strategies and adaptive equipment, such as walkers or canes, to perform activities.
• Speech and language therapy: Helps improve language or sign language communication.
• Recreational therapy: To improve motor skills and emotional well-being.
• Stem Cell therapy: This treatment is effective in managing cerebral palsy as they target the damaged neurons in the brain and rejuvenate them. Stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy in Delhi provides excellent support in reducing inflammation in the brain and controlling movements.