Cerebral palsy can be classified into four types: spastic, athetoid, ataxic and mixed. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form, accounting for between 70 and 80 percent of all cerebral palsy cases. Limb muscles are stiff and remain permanently contracted. This form of cerebral palsy is further subdivided depending on which limbs are affected. Both legs may be affected, turning in and crossing at the knees. This is called spastic diplegia, characterized by the ‘scissors’ gait. Another type of spastic cerebral palsy is spastic hemi paresis or weakness of muscles in one half of the body. Uncontrollable shaking or tremors often accompany this type of spasticity. If the tremors are severe, movement can become very difficult.
Athetoid or dyskinetic cerebral palsy affects 10 to 20 percent of all cerebral palsy patients, and is characterized by slow, writhing movements. Such movements are uncontrollable and usually occur in the hands, feet, arms and legs. Face or tongue muscles may also be affected, resulting in drooling or grimacing. If tongue muscles are affected, patients may have difficulty speaking. Athetoid cerebral palsy typically becomes worse during stress, and writhing movements in affected body parts disappear during sleep.
Ataxic cerebral palsy affects between five and ten percent of all cerebral palsy patients. This form of cerebral palsy is characterized by deficits in sense of balance and depth perception. These result in poor coordination, particularly with fine motor tasks, and a wide-based, awkward gait. People with ataxic cerebral palsy may also have an intention tremor, which is a tremor that occurs when attempting a voluntary movement such as picking up an object.
Mixed cerebral palsy affects up to 30 percent of all cerebral palsy patients. In these patients, symptoms of more than one of the three main types of cerebral palsy described above may be present. Most commonly, spastic and athetoid forms of cerebral palsy coexist.
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Signs of Cerebral Palsy
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Depending on a child’s age, there are different signs that may suggest the presence of cerebral palsy. A newborn infant with difficulty in suckling, evacuating the bowels, or breathing should be carefully evaluated, as these are all warning signs of cerebral palsy. Infants may also...
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Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
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From the several thousand cases of Cerebral Palsy reported around the world each year, about 10% of them are cases of Athetoid Cerebral Palsy. This disorder is exactly the opposite of spastic Cerebral Palsy wherein the muscles are too rigid. In Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, the...
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Cerebral Palsy Therapy
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While cerebral palsy is incurable, many of the symptoms can be treated. However, because multiple parts of the body may be affected, treatment is usually complicated and involves a multi-disciplinary approach. The exact treatment that a cerebral palsy patient undergoes also depends on the type...
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Athetoid Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
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Athetoid cerebral palsy is one of three types of cerebral palsy, and affects between ten and twenty percent of patients. This form of cerebral palsy is caused by damage to parts of the brain called the cerebellum or basal ganglia. These parts of the brain...
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Spastic Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
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Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form of cerebral palsy, accounting for between seventy and eighty percent of all cerebral palsy cases. People with this condition have stiff muscles that remain in a state of prolonged contraction. Such muscle stiffness and contraction makes normal...
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Ataxic Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
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Ataxic cerebral palsy accounts for five to ten percent of all cases of cerebral palsy. In this form of cerebral palsy, there is damage to a part of the brain called the cerebellum that helps maintain balance and coordination. When the cerebellum is damaged, it...
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Spastic Cerebral Palsy
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Cerebral Palsy is a crippling brain disorder that affects thousands of newborns children around the world each year. With no definite permanent cure known as of yet, the ones affected by the disorder tend to suffer for their entire life. There are several types of...
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Cause of Cerebral Palsy
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The term cerebral palsy is used to describe a group of conditions that arise during the first few years of a child’s life. These conditions are usually the result of impaired development of, or damage to, the part of the brain that controls movement and...
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Cerebral Palsy Physical Therapy
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Cerebral Palsy is one of the most widespread brain-related disorders found in newborn or young children around the world. Cerebral Palsy is a permanent disorder that occurs when the brain undergoes damage either during pregnancy or soon after birth. As a result of this, the...
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Cerebral Palsy
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Annually, thousands of newborns around the world suffer from a sad and crippling disorder known as Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy was discovered and named only about a century ago. Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe several conditions resulting from brain damage or injury...