Cerebral Palsy Gait

Cerebral palsy, wherein cerebral refers to the brain and palsy refers to the disorder of movement or posture, is a condition that affects muscle co-ordination. This condition is most commonly found in children, and is caused by damage to the motor controlling sensitive areas of the developing fetal or infant brain. It can occur during pregnancy, childbirth, or after birth, up to the age of three. Children with cerebral palsy lack co-ordination and are prone to chronic disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behavior. In simple words, they are not able to to talk, walk, eat or play like other children.

Cerebral palsy is neither progressive nor communicable in nature. As it is not a disease, it does not have a procedural cure, and children who have cerebral palsy will have it all their lives. This brain disorder condition does not deteriorate with time, and as it is not a genetic disorder, it does not get passed on to siblings.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy encompasses many different disorders of movement and posture, as the area of the brain that controls muscle tone is damaged. This results in either increased or reduced muscle tone, or a combination of the two. Following are types of cerebral palsy classification, depending on the affected part of the brain, the body, and symptoms.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy: This type of cerebral palsy is most common in children, and is associated with one or more tight muscle groups, which limit, and produce stiff and jerky movements. Individuals suffering from this condition find it difficult to move from one position to another, and can't hold or let go of things easily. Epileptic seizures occur quite frequently in this type of cerebral palsy.

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: Athetoid cerebral palsy occurs when the cerebellum or basal ganglia of the brain gets damaged. As these areas of the brain process the signals that enable smooth, coordinated movements, as well as maintenance of body posture, all body parts associated with them develop disorders. The muscle tone becomes weak or tight, resulting in involuntary, purposeless movements while walking, sitting, or speaking clearly. They also interfere with the facial movements of speaking, feeding, etc. Children cannot move freely and have problems maintaining posture for sitting, standing, and walking.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: Ataxic Cerebral Palsy is a rare form of cerebral palsy that affects balance and depth perception, causing unsteady and shaky movements. Children with this form walk unsteadily and, shake a lot like when they are trying to handle or hold very small objects such as a ball or a book. Basic motor skills like writing, typing, and using scissors might be affected. Some of them also develop visual and/or auditory processing of objects.

Mixed-type Cerebral Palsy: Mixed-type cerebral palsy has conditions of both spastic and athetoid cerebral, that results in tight muscle tone and involuntary movements. This type of cerebral palsy occurs when the pyramidal and extrapyramidal areas of the brain are injured. The symptoms of spastic palsy exhibit first, followed by athetoid's involuntary movements. This happens as the child's age increases from nine months to three years.

Cerebral palsy gait is treated through medication and different forms of therapy. Physical therapy and special education help the child to overcome their restricted movements, and help improve postures and muscle development. The therapy has known to produce some very positive results by enriching the lives of children and enabling them to explore and experience different aspects of life independently.