Cerebral Palsy

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a musculoskeletal disorder that affects posture, body movements, and muscle tone. Children are often born with the condition. The symptoms of cerebral palsy could be apparent right after birth or become evident during your child’s preschool years. See Our Doctors at the first sign of a musculoskeletal disorder.

What are the symptoms of cerebral palsy?

The symptoms of cerebral palsy include:

• Impaired muscle movement
• Exaggerated reflexes
• Unusual posture
• Floppiness
• Involuntary movements
• Unsteady walking
• Problems swallowing
• Eye-muscle imbalances
• Stiff, rigid muscles
• Lack of balance
• Jerky movements
• Reduced joint range of motion
• Difficulty with speech or walking
• Seizures

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can be mild, moderate, severe, and crippling. Some people with the condition need assistance walking or have cognitive impairment in addition to physical disabilities. While there’s no cure, treatment can reduce troublesome symptoms.

What are the risk factors for cerebral palsy?

The causes and risk factors for cerebral palsy include:

• Gene mutations
• Family history of cerebral palsy
• Infections during pregnancy
• Traumatic head injuries
• Infant infections
• Fetal strokes
• Lack of oxygen to the brain during delivery
• Bleeding in the brain
• Toxin exposure during pregnancy
• Illnesses or diseases during pregnancy

However, the cause of cerebral palsy isn’t always known. Adopting healthy habits during pregnancy and regularly seeing an OB/GYN specialist might reduce the risk of problems during and right after birth. But you can’t necessarily prevent cerebral palsy in children.

How does my doctor diagnose cerebral palsy?

Our Doctors use various methods to detect and treat cerebral palsy. They ask about your child’s medical history and symptoms, evaluate them during a physical exam and can order an MRI, a cranial ultrasound, lab tests, or an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the electrical activity in your child’s brain.

How is cerebral palsy treated?

Our Doctors can recommend various treatments to treat cerebral palsy, including medication, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, orthopedic surgery, and other medical procedures. Your child might need more than one of these treatments to minimize the symptoms of cerebral palsy and help them live their best life.

Lifelong treatments might be needed to help your child thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Call the OrthoHouston office today or use the online booking tab to schedule a cerebral palsy evaluation.