【World Cerebral Palsy Day】 Let’s protect babies with cerebral palsy with love

October 6th is the 11th World Cerebral Palsy Day. There are more than 17 million cerebral palsy patients in the world. According to reports from home and abroad, the prevalence of cerebral palsy is 1.4-3.2‰, and the prevalence of cerebral palsy in children aged 1-6 in my country is 2.46‰.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is caused by non-progressive brain damage such as an immature brain (prenatal, intrapartum or postpartum), congenital developmental defects (such as malformations, intrauterine infection) or injuries (such as premature birth, low birth weight, asphyxia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, kernicterus, trauma, infection), and is often accompanied by sensory, perceptual, cognitive, communication and behavioral disorders, as well as epilepsy and secondary muscle and bone problems. Cerebral palsy is also a developmental disorder that affects the lifelong developmental trajectory of children and their family life. Therefore, intervention measures must be considered from the perspective of promoting functional development and supporting family rehabilitation services.

Children with cerebral palsy are at different stages of growth and development. Their individual conditions, motor function development and degree of impairment, and environmental conditions are also different. They need comprehensive rehabilitation treatment, including exercise therapy, occupational therapy, physical factor therapy, traditional Chinese medicine treatment, application of orthotics and assistive devices, speech and language therapy, drug therapy, surgical treatment, combined medical and educational treatment, and family intervention to promote their all-round development, learn to actively exercise, and actively participate in daily life.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is mainly based on exercise therapy. Exercise therapy is based on the theories of kinematics, neurophysiology and neurodevelopment, and is implemented on babies with cerebral palsy with the help of instruments or bare hands. It can effectively improve their motor function, muscle strength, endurance, cardiopulmonary function and balance function.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy is closely related to daily activities, which helps babies apply what they have learned to real life and creates positive conditions for them to return to their families and society. The treatment content includes posture control, hand function training, hand-eye coordination ability training, visual function training, etc.

Speech-Language Therapy

The speech disorders of babies with cerebral palsy are mainly motor articulation disorders and delayed language development. The goals of speech-language therapy include improving abnormal oral movements, improving breathing ability, improving articulation clarity, and promoting speech comprehension and expression ability.

Home rehabilitation therapy

Family rehabilitation is an important part of the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy. The therapist provides parents with simple and feasible guidance to ensure that parents can act as teachers and therapists for their children during non-institutional treatment time, consolidating and continuing the treatment effects of medical institutions.

For the majority of parents, it is important to establish correct awareness, early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment, especially for babies whose brain development is not complete before the age of 6. If they can be given scientific and effective treatment during this period, most of them can achieve good recovery, and abnormal posture and movement disorders can also show significant improvement.
The popular science content of this platform has been funded by the China Association for Science and Technology's Science Popularization Department's 2022 National Science Literacy Action Project "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"