Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is an "umbrella term" in that it refers to a group of different conditions. It has been suggested that no two people with cerebral palsy are alike even if they have the same diagnosis. Cerebral palsy is divided into three major classifications to describe the different movement impairments. These classifications reflect the area of brain damaged. The three classifications are: (1) Spastic; (2) Dyskinetic; and (3) Ataxic

The Main Types Of Cerebral Palsy

• Spastic cerebral palsy
  - some of the muscles in the body are tight, stiff and weak, especially when the person tries to use them, making control of movement difficult.
• Athetoid cerebral palsy
  - control of muscles is disrupted by spontaneous and unwanted movements. Control of posture is also disrupted.
• Ataxic cerebral palsy
  - problems include difficulty with balance, shaky movements of hands or feet, and difficulty with speech.

Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

• Problems using and controlling muscles, causing difficulty with walking, writing, eating, talking, dressing
• Problems with balance and coordination
• Difficulty controlling and maintaining posture (they may need help to sit upright)
• Visual difficulties
• Hearing problems
• Learning difficulties
• Epilepsy(this affects as many as one in three children with CP)

A common misconception is that people with cerebral palsy inevitably have learning difficulties. This misunderstanding may have arisen because people with CP can have problems controlling their facial movements and speech, and it can be difficult to understand them at first.

However, just like in the rest of the population, there's a range of intelligence: some people with cerebral palsy have moderate or even severe learning difficulties, while others are extremely intelligent.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Most people think of cerebral palsy as a condition caused by problems during birth. However, although it's now generally accepted that complications during labour and birth are important factors in a minority of cases, they're not the only cause. It's thought they're responsible for about one in ten cases.

It's easier to think of cerebral palsy as a condition where a part of the brain hasn't developed properly. This might be because of a variety of events occurring before, during or after the delivery. So, it may be the result of problems with blood supply to the baby's brain during delivery, but it may also happen while the baby is still growing in the womb.

Cerebral Palsy- CP :- Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine are natural therapies many thousand of years old. Acupuncture is a complex intervention that may vary for different patients with similar chief complaints. The number and length of treatments treatment and the specific points used may vary among individuals and during the course of Treatment. It is a method of encouraging the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. It is the insertion of very fine needles, sometimes in conjunction with electrical stimulus, at the precise acupuncture points in the body, in order to influence physiological functioning of the body. It has remarkable effective especially for many diseases that are resistant to conventional forms of therapy. Besides being minimum in bad side effects it has bonus side effect (i.e. strengthening other organs and improving Qi), it is also safe.

Acupuncture can also used in conjunction with heat produced by burning specific herbs, this is called Moxibustion. In addition, a Non-invasive method of massage therapy, called Acupressure (is the pressing of acupoints), can also be effective. Cupping is another type or Treatment. It is a method of stimulating Acupuncture points by applying suction through a glass jar, wood or metal, in which a partial vacuum has been created. This technique produces blood congestion at the site, and therefore stimulates it.

Herbal Medicine is the substantial part to the Chinese medicine of acupuncture.