Spastic Cerebral Palsy
What Does It Mean For My Child?

Spastic cerebral palsy simply implies that the cerebral palsy shows itself through stiff muscles and limbs, thus making movement difficult.

Spasticity is a condition in which certain muscles are continuously contracted. This contraction causes stiffness or tightness of the muscles and may interfere with movement, speech, and walking.

According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy may include hypertonicity (increased muscle tone), clonus (a series of rapid muscle contractions), exaggerated deep tendon reflexes, muscle spasms, scissoring (involuntary crossing of the legs), and fixed joints.

The degree of spasticity varies from mild muscle stiffness to severe, painful, and uncontrollable muscle spasms.

This type of palsy is the most common form of cerebral palsy, accounting for roughly 70% of cases.

It is further classified by the limbs affected: hemiplegia (one side affected more than the other), diplegia (lower body affected more than upper body), and quadriplegic (all four limbs affected equally).

If you have a child with a spastic type of cerebral palsy, don't be overwhelmed.

There are therapies available that can help your child get better.

There is hope.

To learn more about Cerebral Palsy, please investigate the following links:

Click here for the Cerebral Palsy Guide

Click here for Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis

Click here for Cerebral Palsy Causes

Click here for Cerebral Palsy Symptoms

Click here for Cerebral Palsy Prognosis

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