Cerebral Palsy Passion Project Paper
Cerebral Palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood (Cerebral Palsy Foundation, yourcpf.org., n.d., factsheet) This means that Cerebral Palsy also becomes a prominent disorder in adults. Cerebral Palsy is a lifelong disease, it is not progressive, however, the symptoms a person has can change over time (Cerebral Palsy Foundation, yourcpf.org.) This means that while the individual who has Cerebral Palsy will not get any worse, their symptoms can morph and change. So while there is some peace in knowing that an individual’s condition will not get any worse, there is the threat of changing symptoms. In total, there are 200,000-3 million cases per year in the US alone (Google, Sep. 28 2015, …show more content…
Cerebral Palsy is a very complex disorder that people are not aware of, despite how common it is. A common misconception about Cerebral Palsy is that it is a disorder that is strictly affecting muscles when in reality it is a “brain disorder/injury (CDC, CDC.gov).” Cerebral refers to the brain, and Palsy refers to paralysis (CDC, CDC.gov), hence the title Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy has various causes, most of which happen before the child is delivered. But some of these causes include genetic mutations, fetal stroke, maternal infections, and a traumatic head injury as a child (Mayo Clinic, Aug. 16, 2013, mayoclinic.org). In addition to their own unique diagnosis, there are also some general symptoms to be aware of, for example, uneven variation in muscle tone, delays in reaching motor skill milestones, overly tense or overly limp bodies (especially with infants.), or difficulty walking (Mayo Clinic, mayoclinic.org). Cerebral Palsy is classified under 4 types. The most common type of Cerebral Palsy is Spastic Cerebral Palsy, which affects 80% of people who have …show more content…
One type of research being done is through physical therapy. Specifically, different types of physical therapy. A recent study focused on people who have spastic hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, and it was studying whether or not a walking backward routine would improve their mobility. Overall, the results were positive, “two-way ANOVA revealed significant improvement in overall, anteroposterior and mediolateral stability indices of experimental group at the most stable level” (El-Basatiny & Abdel-aziem. Vol. 29 Issue 5, p457-467.2015, ebsco.com) It was also said that this in addition to their normal physical therapy routines, will help with their overall .stability. (El-Basatiny & Abdel-aziem, 2015) While this isn’t a cure, it will help improve the lives of people (in this case hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy) with having more mobility, therefore having more independence. Within the past month, there has been a breakthrough that involves Cerebral Palsy patients and genomic sequencing. Out of the 161 children tested, 1-10 were found to have the same common genetic anomaly(Dr.Barnard, 2015, para.3, dispatch.com) This is important because it opens the window for drug testing that will aim to modify that genetic anomaly (Dr.Barnard, 2015, para.3). If this genetic testing/treatment works, it will greatly help in the finding of better treatment, and maybe the
Cerebral Palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood (Cerebral Palsy Foundation, yourcpf.org., n.d., factsheet) This means that Cerebral Palsy also becomes a prominent disorder in adults. Cerebral Palsy is a lifelong disease, it is not progressive, however, the symptoms a person has can change over time (Cerebral Palsy Foundation, yourcpf.org.) This means that while the individual who has Cerebral Palsy will not get any worse, their symptoms can morph and change. So while there is some peace in knowing that an individual’s condition will not get any worse, there is the threat of changing symptoms. In total, there are 200,000-3 million cases per year in the US alone (Google, Sep. 28 2015, …show more content…
Cerebral Palsy is a very complex disorder that people are not aware of, despite how common it is. A common misconception about Cerebral Palsy is that it is a disorder that is strictly affecting muscles when in reality it is a “brain disorder/injury (CDC, CDC.gov).” Cerebral refers to the brain, and Palsy refers to paralysis (CDC, CDC.gov), hence the title Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy has various causes, most of which happen before the child is delivered. But some of these causes include genetic mutations, fetal stroke, maternal infections, and a traumatic head injury as a child (Mayo Clinic, Aug. 16, 2013, mayoclinic.org). In addition to their own unique diagnosis, there are also some general symptoms to be aware of, for example, uneven variation in muscle tone, delays in reaching motor skill milestones, overly tense or overly limp bodies (especially with infants.), or difficulty walking (Mayo Clinic, mayoclinic.org). Cerebral Palsy is classified under 4 types. The most common type of Cerebral Palsy is Spastic Cerebral Palsy, which affects 80% of people who have …show more content…
One type of research being done is through physical therapy. Specifically, different types of physical therapy. A recent study focused on people who have spastic hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, and it was studying whether or not a walking backward routine would improve their mobility. Overall, the results were positive, “two-way ANOVA revealed significant improvement in overall, anteroposterior and mediolateral stability indices of experimental group at the most stable level” (El-Basatiny & Abdel-aziem. Vol. 29 Issue 5, p457-467.2015, ebsco.com) It was also said that this in addition to their normal physical therapy routines, will help with their overall .stability. (El-Basatiny & Abdel-aziem, 2015) While this isn’t a cure, it will help improve the lives of people (in this case hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy) with having more mobility, therefore having more independence. Within the past month, there has been a breakthrough that involves Cerebral Palsy patients and genomic sequencing. Out of the 161 children tested, 1-10 were found to have the same common genetic anomaly(Dr.Barnard, 2015, para.3, dispatch.com) This is important because it opens the window for drug testing that will aim to modify that genetic anomaly (Dr.Barnard, 2015, para.3). If this genetic testing/treatment works, it will greatly help in the finding of better treatment, and maybe the