Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy encompasses a group of conditions that are caused by problems in brain development. Disturbances in the brain usually occur during fetal or infant brain development and effects movement and motor control in children (Lisovska, 2016). The cerebral cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for directing muscle movement, is damaged and cerebral palsy thus develops. Cerebral palsy can be classified into four types which are made distinct because of its location and abnormality patterns. Spastic cerebral palsy, the most common type, affects different parts of the body but is characterized as an increase in muscle tone and stiff and tensile muscle. Spastic cerebral palsy can be further distinguished into spastic hemiplegia
or hemiparesis, spastic diplegia or diparesis, and spastic quadriplegia or quadriparesis. Spastic hemiplegia or hemiparesis affects the arm, hand, and leg of one side of the body.
Spastic diplegia or diparesis affects the legs bilaterally. Spastic quadriplegia or quadriparesis is the most severe and affects all four limbs along with the face and torso. The second type of cerebral palsy is dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is characterized by slow, uncontrollable, tremor-like jerky movements of the hands, feet, arms, or legs. The next type is ataxic cerebral palsy which affects balance and depth perception. Ataxic cerebral palsy is associated with poor coordination and unsteady gait. The last type of cerebral palsy is mixed type. A mixed type version of cerebral palsy is classified when the symptoms are don’t comply with the other three types. An example of mixed cerebral palsy is a child with tight muscles and relaxed
muscles.
Since cerebral palsy is a lifelong developmental disorder, it is not commonly found in the athletic population. Early detection of cerebral palsy usually occurs at the age of two years old. At most, diagnosis is made before the age 4 or 5. Because of early recognition, most patients are advised and recommended to not participate in typical recreational sports but are able to participate in modified sports programs. This is because patients with cerebral palsy need to gain coordination and proper functioning of their muscles. According to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, at every hour a child is born with cerebral palsy. Locally, in California, it was found that blacks are more at risk to cerebral palsy due to low socioeconomic status (Wu, 2011). This study also found that blacks and hispanics in California had an increased risk of cerebral palsy because of young maternal age (Wu, 2011). Globally seventeen million people have cerebral palsy. In many epidemiological studies, it has been found that cerebral palsy is found in 1.3 more times in males than females. Some researchers agree that this can be because males may be more susceptible to genetic mutation (Maclennan, 2015). Mothers with twins, triplets, and multiple births are also found to be more at risk to have a child with cerebral palsy. If a mother’s Rh blood types is different than her baby’s, the mother's antibodies may attack the baby’s blood cells which can also result in cerebral palsy. Mothers exposed to toxic substances like methyl mercury or with thyroid abnormalities, intellectual disabilities, or seizures are more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy.
Although brain development begins three weeks from conception to the first two years of life, cerebral palsy can develop during prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal periods.
Cerebral palsy can be congenital, acquired, or caused by damage to white matter of the brain, intracranial hemorrhage, asphyxia, or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Cerebral palsy may develop congenitally because of genetics, brain malformations, maternal infections, or fetal injuries. Maternal infections like toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes, can affect the womb and placenta and inflammation can disrupt brain development of the
fetus.