A group of health conditions that negatively affect posture and movement is known as cerebral palsy. The main cause of these diseases is damage that happens to the developing brain (commonly before birth).
The symptoms vary from mild to severe and often appear during infancy or preschool years. Exaggerated reflexes may appear in children with cerebral palsy. Other symptoms that can occur are spasticity (muscle stiffness), irregular posture, uncontrolled movements, unsteady walking, and others.
Those who suffer from these diseases can also experience eye muscle imbalance (which leads to difficulty focusing) and decreased motion range of the joints (usually caused by stiffness of the muscles).
Cerebral palsy affects people differently. For instance, someone with this condition can walk while others need assistance. Moreover, people with this disease can also notice intellectual disabilities.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition but with proper treatment, you may reduce the symptoms and improve your quality of life. The best part is that cerebral palsy is not a progressive condition. In other words, it remains the same over time.
Symptoms
Cerebral palsy symptoms appear differently among patients. While in some people the condition affects the entire body, others experience symptoms only in one side of the body or in the limbs. The primary cerebral palsy symptoms include movement, coordination, speech, development, and eating problems.
Coordination and Movement
- Spasticity (exaggerated reflexes)
- Muscle tone variations
- Rigidity (muscle stiffness)
- Ataxia (loss of balance and coordination of muscles)
- Tremors (jerky uncontrolled movements)
- Slow movements
- Using one side of the body only
- Walking problems
- Fine motor skills issues
Eating and Speech
- Difficulty speaking, sucking, chewing, or eating
- Swallowing problems
- Delay in speech development
Development
- Learning and intellectual disabilities
- Delayed growth and motor skills development (including sitting up)
Other Symptoms
This health condition may provoke neurological symptoms. For example:
- Hearing problems
- Pain
- Bowel or bladder problems (such as constipation, urinary incontinence, and others)
- Mental disorders (such as behavior problems, emotional conditions, and others)
- Vision problems and eye movement changes
- Seizures
While this is not a progressive condition, not treating it may lead to the worsening of muscle rigidity and shortening.
Immediately contact a healthcare provider if you suspect your child has a movement condition, development delays, loss of awareness, or poor coordination.
Causes
This health condition occurs due to damage or abnormal development of the brain. Commonly, cerebral palsy happens before birth but it also can appear at birth in early infancy. However, in most cases, the exact cause of cerebral palsy is not known. Experts think that a combination of factors can lead to brain development issues. Check below some of them:
- Traumatic head injury that happens to an infant due to physical trauma, falls, motor vehicle accidents, and others.
- Lack of oxygen to the brain.
- Infections that negatively affect infants cause swelling in the brain.
- Bleeding into the brain as a newborn or in the womb.
- Stroke (a health condition that stops the blood supply to the brain)
- Certain maternal infections can also impact the unborn baby’s development.
- Gene changes that affect the brain development of the baby.
Risk Factors
There are many factors that may contribute to or even cause cerebral palsy. For example:
Maternal Health
If a pregnant woman is exposed to toxins to experience infections it may significantly increase the risk of cerebral palsy to the unborn baby. The baby’s brain development can be affected by inflammation, fever, or damage.
- Cytomegalovirus – If pregnant women have this virus during pregnancy, it can provoke birth defects.
- German measles (rubella) – Discuss with your healthcare provider to get a vaccine against this viral infection.
- Herpes – This is an infection that can damage the womb and placenta and spread to the unborn baby.
- Syphilis – This is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can spread to the baby during pregnancy. Moreover, through sexual contact, this infection spreads to other people usually.
- Toxoplasmosis – This health condition happens due to a parasite found in food, soil, and feces of pets (such as cats).
- Zika virus infection – This is another virus that causes an infection that can negatively affect the brain development of the child.
- Intrauterine infections – For example, infection of the placenta or fetal membranes.
- Exposure to toxins – For example methyl mercury.
- Other health conditions – For example thyroid diseases, preeclampsia, and seizures.
Infant Illness
An increased risk of cerebral palsy can occur in babies due to certain health conditions. For example:
- Bacterial meningitis – A disease that provokes swelling of the membranes around the spinal cord and brain.
- Viral encephalitis – This condition causes health problems similar to bacterial meningitis.
- Severe jaundice – Jaundice is a health condition in which eyes and skin appear yellow. The primary cause of jaundice is certain blood cells that are not filtered from the bloodstream.
- Brain bleeding – It usually happens when a baby experiences a stroke in the womb or early infancy.
Pregnancy and Birth
The following pregnancy factors can also contribute to cerebral palsy. Examples include:
- Low birth weight – Those who weigh less than 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) are at elevated risk of developing cerebral palsy.
- Premature birth – At an increased risk of this disease are babies who are born prematurely.
- Delivery complications – Certain problems during labor and delivery could also elevate the risk of cerebral palsy.
- Multiple babies – This pregnancy factor also elevates the risk of this condition, especially if one of the babies dies.
Complications
Not treating this condition may lead to some complications. For example:
- Mental disorders – Behavior problems and depression can occur in people with cerebral palsy.
- Heart and lung disease – Heart disease, lung conditions, and breathing problems can occur. Additionally, those who suffer from cerebral palsy can also experience swallowing problems.
- Osteoarthritis – This is a condition in which the misalignment of joints can lead to a painful bone condition.
- Osteoporosis – An increased risk of bone fracture have people with this condition. It usually happens due to a lack of mobility, medications used to treat seizures and poor nutrition.
- Malnutrition – Swallowing and feeding problems can lead to malnutrition in children. As a result, it can lead to weakened bones and impair growth.
- Contracture – This is a shortening of the muscle tissue usually due to spasticity. Therefore, it can lead to slow bone growth, joint changes, dislocation, and others.
Prevention
Commonly, this condition cannot be prevented but the following tips can reduce the risk of developing it. Check below some preventive steps that can help to lower pregnancy complications:
- Get vaccinated against health conditions including rubella to prevent infection.
- As healthier is a woman before pregnancy the lower infection risk is.
- Avoid alcoholic beverages and recreational drugs during pregnancy because they are linked to cerebral palsy risk.
Sometimes, cerebral palsy can happen due to a head injury in the childhood. That’s why it is recommended to practice good safety. You can prevent brain damage in your child by using a car seat, bicycle helmet, and others.
Diagnosis
Cerebral palsy symptoms usually appear over time and it may be challenging to diagnose this disease. In case, doctors suspect that your child has cerebral palsy, they will assess the symptoms and medical history and will perform a physical examination. They can also monitor a child’s development and growth.
Your child may need also to visit a physician trained in brain and nervous system diseases. These include pediatric neurologists, child development specialists, and others. Additional tests are usually done if the doctor is not sure whether your child has cerebral palsy or not. Check below some of them:
Brain Scans
The following tests can help your doctor determine damaged regions and irregular brain development. For example:
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) – This test involves radio waves and a magnetic field to make detailed brain images. A sedative or even general anesthesia can be given to your child before this test.
- Cranial ultrasound – This test is performed usually during infancy to determine how the brain is developing. It also produces brain images but uses high-frequency sound waves.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
When physicians suspect your child has seizures, they can perform this test. It will help to measure the electrical activity of the child’s brain. If doctors identify that there are some changes in the brain wave patterns, your child may have epilepsy.
Laboratory Tests
Doctors commonly perform tests of the urine, blood, or skin for genetic or metabolic diseases.
Additional Tests
The following tests are usually done if your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Doctors will perform tests to check the child’s:
- Development
- Other diseases
- Movement
- Intellect
- Speech
- Hearing
- Vision
Additionally, cerebral palsy type depends on the primary movement disease. Check below some examples:
- Spastic cerebral palsy – This type provokes muscle stiffness and exaggerated reflexes and it is the most common cerebral palsy type.
- Dyskinetic cerebral palsy – In such cases, controlling involuntary muscles becomes hard.
- Ataxic cerebral palsy – Those who suffer from this type may experience balance and coordination problems.
Treatment
Usually, life-long treatment in children and adults with cerebral palsy is required. Moreover, there is no way to cure this condition, and treatment can improve your quality of life and lessen the symptoms. Commonly, cerebral palsy treatments include medications, therapies, surgery, and others.
Medicines
Doctors prescribe medications to reduce muscle tightness, pain, and others. The following medicines can also help to improve functional abilities and decrease the risk of complications. Examples include:
- Nerve or muscle injections – Physicians usually prescribe onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox) in the treatment of muscle tightness. The treatment usually lasts up to 60 days. Common adverse reactions include breathing problems, difficulty swallowing, and others.
- Oral muscle relaxants – This category of medicines helps to relax the muscles. Physicians often prescribe Baclofen, Tizanidine, Diazepam, or Dantrolene.
- Drugs to decrease drooling – Botox injections can also help with excessive drooling.
Therapies
- Physical therapy – This therapy includes exercises and muscle training. These are usually recommended by your doctor to improve a child’s balance, strength, flexibility, mobility, and motor development.
- Occupational therapy – This therapy helps children to gain independence in daily routines (such as home, school, and society).
- Speech and language therapy – Physicians perform this therapy to help your child improve speaking ability. They can also help to treat eating and swallowing problems.
- Recreational therapy – healthcare providers perform this therapy to improve motor skills, speech, and emotional well-being in children.
Surgery
This procedure is usually used to decrease muscle tightness and correct bone changes due to spasticity. For example:
- Orthopedic surgery – Usually children with contracture (shortening of the muscle tissue) need this treatment option.
- Selective dorsal rhizotomy (cutting nerve fibers) – This surgery is often performed by surgeons when other treatment options do not help. It involves the removal of nerves that control spastic muscles. As a result, it may help to lessen pain and relax the muscles. Sometimes, this surgery may provoke numbness.
Other Treatment Options
While treatments are needed for seizures, pain, and other health problems, some people require treatment for sleep problems, oral health issues, bladder incontinence, and others.
Adults with Cerebral Palsy
When children with this disease become adults they can need additional care for health problems common in adults. Examples include:
- Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
- Pain
- Dental problems
- Heart and lung disorders
- Mental diseases (including depression)
- Seizures
- Vision and hearing problems
- Orthopedic problems (such as arthritis, osteoporosis, contractures, and others)
Never administer any medicine without a doctor’s recommendation because it may lead to certain unpleasant outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are primary cerebral palsy symptoms?
- Abnormal movements such as jerking, writhing, and twisting.
- Loss of coordination
- Unsteady gait
- Tremors
- Floppy muscles
If any of the previous symptoms occur in your child, immediately contact a healthcare professional.
Is cerebral palsy curable?
No, but with proper treatments, you can lessen the symptoms and improve the quality of life. For more details, discuss with your healthcare provider.
What is life expectancy in people with cerebral palsy?
On average, people who are born with this disease live between 30-70 years old. If you have additional questions, ask your doctor.
