Cerebral Palsy (CP) Basics

How TheraTogs Can Help with the Management of Clients with Cerebral Palsy

Competent limb use begins with trunk and pelvic alignment and control and adequate body awareness and sensory input.  Therefore, regardless of the CP subtype or level of severity, we recommend beginning to use TheraTogs garments to support the acquisition of  these fundamental, core components needed for postural control – the ability to sustain a posture while attending to and engaged in a purposeful activity.

The customizability of TheraTogs strapping strategies empowers attending therapists to design problem-specific systems that support their therapy goals. For this reason, please find  subtype-specific discussions in these blog entries:

• Diplegic CP

• Hemiplegic CP

• Quadriplegic CP

• Athetoid/Dyskinetic CP

• Dystonic CP

• Ataxic CP

Which TheraTogs Systems to Use

These TheraTogs products support therapy goals for clients with CP:

• Posture and Torso Alignment (PTA) System

• Full Body System (FBS) – comes with limb strapping components.

• Wunzi System – for infants and young preschoolers.

Applicable Science and Therapy Approaches

Sciences that apply to the management of cerebral palsy:

• Biomechanics

• Kinesiology

• Physiologic adaptation of bone and soft tissues to use history

• Postural control

• Somatosensory information processing and modulation

• Neural plasticity: cortical mapping and massed practice

Therapy approaches that can be used to address cerebral palsy:

• Movement System [Impairment Syndrome] Analysis and Management

• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)

• Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT)

• Perception-Action Approach (P-A) (formerly TAMO – Tscharnuter Akademie for Motor Organization)

• Sensory Integration (SI) Approach

More About Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP)  describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non- progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behavior, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.[1]

The group of disorders that fall under the umbrella term of CP are categorized according to several characteristics including type (based upon predominant neuromotor abnormality such as spastic, dyskinetic (athetoid and dystonic), or ataxic), anatomic distribution (whole body, one side, lower limbs, one limb), and  functional limitation (from mild to severe, preferably determined with a standardized measure[2]). These characteristics combine to comprise constellations of challenges and issues that are unique to each individual.

Resources

Find more information about CP at  CerebralPalsy.org  and  AACPDM websites.

References

1. Rosenbaum P, Paneth N,  et al. 2007. A report: the definition and classification of cerebral palsy April 2006. Devel Med Child Neurol, 49(Supp s109): 8–14.

2. The Gross Motor Function Classification System organizes functional skills – as determined by the Gross Motor Function Measure – into levels of severity. For more information, go to: Gross Motor Function Classification System.