Rehabilitation And Therapy Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is the leading cause of childhood disability affecting function and development. This disorder affects the development of movement and posture that is believed to arise from nonprogressive disturbances in the developing fetal or infant brain. In addition to the motor disorders that characterize cerebral palsy, which may limit a patient's activities, individuals with cerebral palsy often display epilepsy, secondary musculoskeletal problems, and disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behavior.
A rehabilitation specialist has an important role in helping coordinate the care of these often very involved patients as well as assisting with many aspects of care, including, but not limited to, those relating to spasticity management, therapies, modalities, bracing, sialorrhea, and insomnia.

Inpatient rehabilitation may be especially useful after orthopedic surgery or placement of a baclofen pump for children with cerebral palsy for intensive physical, occupational, and/or speech therapy. These patients receive therapy in at least 2 disciplines for 3 hours daily. A change in functional status following orthopedic surgery or baclofen pump placement may necessitate the need for inpatient rehabilitation, even if needed for family training for transfers.
Acupuncture Therapy for children with cerebral palsy
Part of having cerebral palsy means finding new ways to cope with various physical symptoms, some of which acupuncture is believed to remedy.
The most comprehensive study of acupuncture and children was funded by the National Institutes of Health and performed by the University of Arizona Pediatrics Department. The study involved several children; its goal was to determine to what extent muscle hypertonicity could be eliminated.
One child in the study had severely tight muscles that were impeding the development of his internal organs. The 5-year-old had limited vocal ability, and his affect was more or less flat. He underwent acupuncture at seven channels on his lower and upper extremities; the treatment lasted a few hours. Researchers noted a decrease in hypertonicity that was short in duration.
After a second treatment, the child began crying at the insertion of the needles, and researchers removed the needles.
Auricular treatment without needles was implemented, and it was noted that his muscles were not as hard as they were before treatment. In this treatment, the points were stimulated by an ear probe. By the end of 16 treatments with the ear probe, the child’s limb thrusting was reduced by 50 percent.
Another randomized controlled trial at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center indicated that acupuncture may provide relief to children with spastic cerebral palsy. The evaluation-blind trial assessed children ages 12 to 72 months with spasticity.
After 16 weeks of acupuncture treatment, one group of children displayed improvement in their gross motor functionality that exceeded researcher’s expectations. The conclusion of the study is that acupuncture can, if done properly and early, help children improve their ability to function physically, but further study is needed.
One area of promise is in the area of laser acupuncture, which targets points by using low-energy, pulsating laser beams instead of traditional needles.

The beam radiates against the skin and stimulates the point in a way that a needle would. A study performed on 29 children in China with brain damage, when they received laser acupuncture on various scalp points, experienced improvements in cerebral blood flow, which can enhance physical function.