Cerebral palsy

Question 1

what is cerebral palsy?

Answer 1

“term for a group of disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain.”

• neurological impairment is permanent and non-progressive

Question 2

risk factors

Answer 2

• Prematurity <37 weeks
• Low birth weight
• Prenatal exposures (eg. toxic substances)
• Bacterial and viral infections during pregnancy
• stroke is the most common cause of CP in babies

Question 3

percentage of each motor type

Answer 3

spastic - 70>80%
dyskinetic - 6%
ataxic 6%

Question 4

motor type spastic

Answer 4

Arises from damage to the motor cortex

Characterised by hypertonia which arises from damage to cortical motor area

Muscle tightness, jerky movements and joint stiffness are characteristic of spastic CP

may have difficulty with positional change, controlling isolated movements, poor coordination, during deliberate movements

Question 5

motor type - ataxia

Answer 5

affects a persons balance, coordination and depth perception

arises from damage to the cerebellum

Movements are often jerky or erratic

difficulty performing tasks requiring fine motor skills and uncontrollable shaking during deliberate actions

unsteady gait pattern

Question 6

motor type - dyskinesia

Answer 6

characterised by fluctuation in muscle tone (dystonia) and abnormal involuntary movement

slow writhing purposeless movement = athetosis

abrupt jerky movements = chorea

it arises from damage to the basal ganglia nuclei

the lack of uncontrolled movement of the upper and lower limbs, face and other parts of their bodies in unpredictable and unexpected ways

Question 7

classification system

Answer 7

the 5 classification systems:
- Gross Motor Function (GMFCS)
- Manual Ability (MACS)
- Eating and Drinking (EDACS)
- Visual function (VFCS)
- Communication (CFCS)