Causes and Types of Cerebral Palsy

In the case of Cerebral Palsy there is no one cause of this severe condition. There are many things that may increase the risk of this condition but will not cause cerebral palsy all the time. In the majority of cases and average of seventy percent, it results from brain injury before the child is even born this is known as congenital cerebral palsy this would be present from birth but may take months even years to diagnose depending on how severe it illness is. There is also a chance of acquired cerebral palsy which could happen through there being a case of meningitis or brain injuries.

Below are some factors that can increase the chances of cerebral palsy. None of the above will definitely lead to cerebral palsy. Before birth: Prematurely, long difficult labor, lack of oxygen to the child, Bacterial infection of the mother during birth, low birth weight, severe jaundice, viral, diseases in early pregnancy, attack of the child's central nervous system, lack of oxygen / nutrients from the placenta to the fetus and incompatible blood types between the mother and child. After birth: Viral encephalitis, brain tumors, head injuries and Meningitis

Cerebral palsy is broken down into three main types: Ataxic cp, Athetoid cp, Spastic cp.

Ataxic CP - this is the rarest of the three and occurs when the cerebellum has been damaged this part of the brain controls balance. It will be difficult fop the child to coordinate their movements and they will have problems below with balancing.

Along with the three types of cp some children will have a combination of them all.

Athetiod CP - This type of cp occurs when the basal ganglion has been damaged and as a result causes involuntary, uncoordinated and uncontrolled movements of the muscles. This causing uncontrolled and jerky movements as well as twisting of the fingers and wrists may affect all limbs. When walking, it will tend to cause the child to stumble with poor coordination.

Spastic CP - This type of CP is the most common of the three it occurs when there has been damage to the cortex, which is the part of the brain controlling thought movement and sensation. Causes mainly tightness of the muscles, in both the arms and legs of the inflicted. The arms will tend to be flat against the side of the body with the hands bent up against the forearm. Depending on the damage the legs will either be greatly effected or only mildly it may be only slightly obvious that there is a problem when the child walks or in worse cases both legs are affected and they will be crossed with the toes pointing. If the muscles are not exercised often enough this can cause the child to become wheelchair bound.

Barry Hynes

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