World Cerebral Palsy Day 2023: what is it? Causes, symptoms and treatment – News18

WORLD CEREBRAL PALSY DAY 2023: World Cerebral Palsy Day, observed on October 6 each year, provides an opportunity to honor the lives and achievements of people living with cerebral palsy – a lifelong neurological disability that affects their movement, posture and coordination. This day is marked to honor those struggling with this condition and further bring them, their families, supporters and organizations from over 100 countries together.

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As the world prepares for World Cerebral Palsy Day 2023, here’s everything you need to know about the condition, its causes, symptoms and treatment.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy refers to a group of neurological disorders that occur in people during infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movements and muscle coordination. Cerebral palsy is usually caused by some form of abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain.

While ‘Cerebral’ means having to do with the brain, ‘Paralysis’ means weakness or problems with the muscles. Those who struggle with CP face problems with their body movements and posture and also have related conditions such as intellectual disabilities, seizures, problems with vision, speech and hearing, or problems with the spine or joints. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy can be classified based on the type of movement disorder involved.

Types of cerebral palsy

There are four types of CP, including spastic cerebral palsy, dyskinetic cerebral palsy, ataxic cerebral palsy, and mixed cerebral palsy.

Causes of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal development of a person’s brain or damage that affects his/her ability to control muscles in early childhood. That said, there are several possible reasons for such abnormal development. It can happen before birth, during birth, within a month of birth, or even in a child’s first year of life when the brain is still developing.

Some examples of causes before or during birth that can cause CP include premature birth, congenital malformations, infection in the central nervous system, genetic problems, and a lack of blood and oxygen supply to the fetus’ brain, among other factors.

Apart from that, babies often develop CP after birth due to a series of events such as accidental injuries, physical abuse, asphyxiation and infection in and around the brain, among other factors.

Symptoms of cerebral palsy

The symptoms of cerebral palsy vary from person to person depending on their age. Although babies with CP usually have developmental delays, they tend to have worsening problems as they get older.

1. Children under six months may have difficulty holding their heads up and feel stiff and limp.
2. Children older than 6 months have difficulty rolling over in both directions, including bringing their hands together, bringing their hands to their mouth, and even extending both hands at the same time.
3. As children get older, they have even more difficulty crawling because they usually crawl crooked and push off with one hand and leg while dragging the other.
4. Children also have difficulty standing, even with support.
5. Other symptoms include differences in head size that are either unusually smaller or unusually larger, a lack of interaction with other people, lack of muscle tone, delayed development, and uncoordinated movements.

Treatment of cerebral palsy

Although cerebral palsy cannot be completely cured, there are certain treatments that can indeed help improve the child’s ability to help manage the disability. To have better chances of overcoming the developmental disorder, it is suggested to start treatment as early as possible.

1. In this regard, there is no standard therapy that works for everyone. Based on the diagnosis, parents and children should work with a team of healthy professionals to identify their specific limitations and develop a plan to address the limitations.
2. Some of the main treatment options include therapies such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and speech and language therapy for children.
3. Healthcare professionals also prescribe certain medications that can be used as a first line of treatment to relieve the symptoms of cerebral palsy.