Cerebral palsy (patient information)
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Cerebral palsy |
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Cerebral palsy On the Web |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
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Cerebral palsy is condition, sometimes thought of as a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. The term cerebral palsy refers to any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but don’t worsen over time. Even though cerebral palsy affects muscle movement, it isn’t caused by problems in the muscles or nerves. It is caused by abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements.
There are several different types of cerebral palsy, including spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed.
What are the symptoms of Cerebral palsy?
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 289 1649 Elon University 13 3 2025 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Symptoms of cerebral palsy can be very different between people with this group of disorders. Symptoms may:
- Be very mild or very severe
- Only involve one side of the body or both sides
- Be more pronounced in either the arms or legs, or involve both the arms and legs
Symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy, the most common type, include:
- Muscles that are very tight and do not stretch. They may tighten up even more over time.
- Abnormal walk (gait): arms tucked in toward the sides, knees crossed or touching, legs make "scissors" movements, walk on the toes
- Joints are tight and do not open up all the way (called joint contracture)
- Muscle weakness or loss of movement in a group of muscles (paralysis)
- The symptoms may affect one arm or leg, one side of the body, both legs, or both arms and legs
The following symptoms may occur in other types of cerebral palsy:
- Abnormal movements (twisting, jerking, or writhing) of the hands, feet, arms, or legs while awake, which gets worse during periods of stress
- Tremors
- Unsteady gait
- Loss of coordination
- Floppy muscles, especially at rest, and joints that move around too much
Other brain and nervous system symptoms:
- Decreased intelligence or learning disabilities are common, but intelligence can be normal
- Speech problems (dysarthria)
- Hearing or vision problems
- Seizures
- Pain, especially in adults (can be difficult to manage)
- Eating and digestive symptoms
- Difficulty sucking or feeding in infants, or chewing and swallowing in older children and adults
- Problems swallowing (at all ages)
- Vomiting or constipation
Other symptoms:
- Increased drooling
- Slower than normal growth
- Irregular breathing
- Urinary incontinence
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Diseases with similar symptoms
Where to find medical care for Cerebral palsy?
Directions to Hospitals Treating Cerebral palsy