Cerebral Palsy

There are different types of Cerebral Palsy and they are:

Spastic Diplegia This type of cp primarily affects the legs.Hemiplegia This is a form of cerebral palsy that affects one arm and leg on the same side of the body

Double Hemiplegia This is used to describe people who have a weakness in all four limbs, with more involvement on one side of the body than the other.Quadriplegiathis is a form of cp that affects all limbs.

Athetoid This type of CP is characterised by tremors, unsteadiness, lack of coordination, and constant movement. People with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy often have speech difficulties as well.Ataxicthis type of CP is the least common form of cerebral palsy. Ataxia means having a lack of balance. People with ataxic CP have a disturbed sense of balance and depth perception. They usually have low muscle tone, a staggering walk and unsteady hands.I have Spastic Diplegia, which means I have tight muscles and this can make it difficult at times to move about. I take muscle relaxants daily to help reduce the high tone allowing me to move a little easier. I walk with the help of a frame and I use a wheelchair.

Spastic diplegia refers to a type of cerebral palsy that is a neuromuscular condition of hypertonia and spasticity in the muscles of the lower extremities, usually those of the legs, hips and pelvis. It results from brain damage at birth that prevents proper development of the pyramidal tract, meaning that certain nerve receptors in the spine are in turn unable to properly absorb the gamma amino butyric acid which would otherwise properly regulate tone in the affected areas.

Without GABA, affected nerves perpetually fire the message for their corresponding muscles to contract and tighten up. Doctor William John Little's first recorded encounter with cerebral palsy is reported to have been among paediatric patients who displayed signs of spastic diplegia. Above the hips, persons with spastic diplegia typically retain normal or near-normal muscle tone and range of motion, though some lesser spasticity may also affect the upper body, such as the trunk and arms, depending on the severity of the condition in the individual; additionally, because the leg tightness often leads to instability in ambulation, some extra muscle tension usually develops in the upper body, shoulders, and arms regardless of the fact that the upper body is not directly affected by the condition. Spasticity in the legs is rarely so great as to totally prevent ambulation; i.e., most people with spastic diplegia can walk. However, spastic diplegia does result in the signature "scissor gait" that some able-bodied people might tend to confuse with the effects of drunkenness.Spastic diplegia typically results from damage to the motor cortex or corticospinal tract sustained before, during, or shortly after birth. This damage is usually caused by asphyxia, hypoxia of the brain, premature birth, birth trauma, haematoma in the brain, or the presence of certain maternal infections during pregnancy. Genetic susceptibility may also play a part. Known post-birth causes of spastic diplegia may include exposure to toxins, traumatic brain injury, encephalitis, meningitis, other brain infections, and drowning or suffocation.

Major treatments for spastic diplegia include:baclofen (and its derivatives), a gamma amino butyric acid substitute injected into the spine or administered via an intrathecal pump; phenol, injected selectively into the over-firing nerves in the legs to reduce spasticity in their corresponding muscles; botox, injected directly into the spastic muscles; orthopaedic surgery to release the spastic muscles from their hypertonic state (these results are usually temporary because of the source of the spasticity being in the nerves, not in the muscles); Rhizotomy, a neurosurgery directly targeting and eliminating (cutting) the over-firing nerve rootlets and leaving the properly-firing ones intact. The term "spastic" describes the attribute of spasticity in spastic cerebral palsy, but has since been used extensively as a general insult to disabled people and/or as an insult to able-bodied people when they seem overly anxious or unskilled in sports (spazz). In 1952 a UK charity called The Spastics Society was formed; the charity changed its name to Scope in 1994.