Cerebal palsy, abbreviated to cp, means paralysis through a brain damage and it is the most common physical handicap in children and youth in the developed world.

Cerebal Palsy

Cerebal palsy (cerbal palsy, cerebral palsey)

Cerebal palsy (cerbal palsy) is actually not one disease, or condition, it is a group of conditions with slightly different symptoms. The common denominator of cerebal palsey is a brain damage to the still developing young brain, caused either during pregnancy, delivery or the CP could have been caused in the early post-natal phase.

Lack of oxygen (asphyxia) and internal bleeding in the brain are the two most common causes of CP. Depending on where in the brain the damage is located, the child will show different symptoms during the early development. Children with CP have a delayed motoric development.

Cerebal palsy symptoms

The most common symptom of CP is more or less loss of muscular control. The variation is large - some children will only have a very light impairment while other children may have very little controlled motoric activity left as a result of the CP.

Many young children with CP also have other functional impairments as mental retardation, there may be epileptic signs, disturbances of the perception, speech impairment and vision impairment.

Types of cerebal palsy

1. Spastic cerebal palsy - the most common variety of cerebal palsy (cerbal palsy) with raised muscle tone and an uncontrolled pattern of movement. The spactic cerebal palsy has three different subgroups - hemiplegic, where one side of the body is affected - diplegic, both arms and legs affected but arms less so than the legs - tetraplegic, full affection of arms and legs.
2. Athetoid (dyskinetic) cerebral palsy is where there are many involuntary body movements because the child cannot control the muscle tone. There may also be a residue of newborn reflexes.
3. Ataxic cerebal palsey (cerbal palsy) is where there is a coordination problem, the amplitude and power in the movement is difficult to control and there is also often a balance problem.