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Major Types of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder that affects different parts of the brain that results in abnormalities in the patient's movements, muscle tones, postures, coordination etc.

The effects of this disorder varies in each and every individual. 

There are two different ways in which Cerebral Palsy affects muscle tones- hypotonia and hypertonia. 

Hypotonia - Affected will have a low muscle tone, that causes a loss of strength and firmness in the muscles.

Hypertonia - Here the affected will have high muscle tone, that leads to rigidity and spasmodic movement of the body. 

Now let us have a look into the different types of Cerebral Palsy :

 Spastic Cerebral Palsy:

It is the most common kind of CP seen in about 70% of the total cases. Those with Spastic CP are hypertonic with very stiff and tight muscles that makes the limp movements very difficult.

The joints would be rigid resulting in body controlling issues and much more. Many people with this disorder walk with an abnormality, that is, usually they walk on their toes instead of feet. 

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy:

It is not quite common, yet seen as a result of asphyxia or lack of oxygen during birth. This condition is actually a mixture of hypotonia and hypertonia that makes the muscle tones fluctuate at different times. 

Major trait of the disease is that there would be involuntary movements of the face, limbs and torso. Patients could have rigid body structure, floppiness in limbs, issues relating to the postures etc. 

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: 

This type is caused by the damage in the cerebellum of our brain that is responsible for the body balance and coordination. 

This kind is a rather rare case, that causes shakiness and tremors in voluntary movements. 

They often have difficulty in speaking and they walk in a special way spreading their feet far apart from each other. This condition is only diagnosed till a child reaches 18 months of age.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy:

During the brain development processes, there can be multiple brain injuries at different parts of the brain.

This results in the presence of more than one cerebral palsy. The child might have hypertonia muscles like Spamic CP and hypotonia muscles like Athetoid CP.

These mixed symptoms affect the healthy movements of the child in so many different ways. An immediate consultation with a CP specialist is extremely important in these cases. 

All children suffering from these brain damages and resulting body balance, movements and coordination troubles are better dealt at the best rehabilitation centers in UAE and in other countries as well. 

A proper care from the part of specialists are highly recommended for the treatment of these children.