Cerebral palsy is a group of chronic disorders impairing control of movement. Cerebral palsy occurs when there is brain damage. The effect of cerebral palsy on an individual can face serious and difficult medical, social, and education challenges. While there is no cure for cerebral palsy, different treatment methods are constantly being researched and improved. There are no treatments that can undo the damage and symptoms of cerebral palsy. Treatment for cerebral palsy includes different therapeutic approaches to help better manage the potential physical and mental aspects of a child. Physical therapy, drug therapy, or surgery may be implemented as part of a cerebral palsy treatment depending on the individual's needs.

The following are recommended treatment options:

Physical therapy is an important treatment if started soon after a diagnosis is made in the first years of a child's life. Specific exercises helps to keep the muscles from becoming weakened and from deteriorating from lack of use. Cerebral palsy patients can experience muscle contractures when muscles become fixed in a rigid and abnormal position.

Exercises help to avoid contractures which is one of the most serious, as well as common complications with cerebral palsy. Contractures can disrupt previous achievements and disrupt balance. When muscles and tendons are prevented from stretching and do not grow fast enough to keep up with lengthening bones, it is called spasticity.

Physical therapy is used to prevent contractures complications by stretching spastic muscles due to the fact that most children are able to grow and stretch the muscles and tendons from their everyday activities. Physical therapy is also used in certain situations to improve motor development, in addition to behavior therapy in some situations that uses psychological theory and techniques to complement physical, speech, or occupational therapy.

Drug therapy is used when the cerebral palsy patient has seizures and the medications can prevent them from occurring. Drugs are used to control spasticity by interfering with the process of muscle contractions, though drugs used for the long-term control of spasticity has not been clearly proven yet. The drugs have only been shown to be effective in the short-term range. Other cerebral palsy patients may have alcohol injected into a muscle to help reduce spasticity for short periods of time, and the physician can work on lengthening the muscle at this time. Patients with athetoid cerebral palsy sometimes are prescribed drugs to reduce the abnormal movements that they experience.

Some cases of cerebral palsy cause contractures to be so severe that it causes problems in movement, therefore surgery is used to lengthen the shortened muscle. There is also a surgery that can reduce spasticity in the legs. This surgery that reduces the amount of stimulation that can reach the leg muscles by the nerves is still being researched on a continual basis to determine its overall effectiveness birth injury.

A birth injury is a physical injury to a baby that occurs during the birthing process. Birth injury may also be referred to as a birth trauma. Some examples of birth injury conditions are brachial palsy, bruising/forceps marks, cephalohematoma, facial paralysis due to pressure on the baby's face causing facial nerve damage, fractures, or the breakage of small blood vessels in the infant's eyes. Birth injury incidents can often be prevented through proper prenatal care and monitoring. The occurrence of a birth injury is much more rare today due to improved prenatal testing; however the chance of a birth injury still exists and injuries can be sustained during delivery, although steps to minimize serious birth injury such as cerebral palsy should always be taken. In some cases, the baby sustains a birth injury due to improper techniques resulting in nerve damage or oxygen deprivation.

A devastating birth injury like cerebral palsy occurs when the brain is damaged before or during birth. Such a birth injury may be the result of improper medical responses to fetal distress. In order to prevent birth injury, hospitals should use a fetal monitor that tracks the heart rate and responses to contractions. Birth injury can occur if the doctor fails to recognize and respond to distress. Children sustaining a birth injury may be only slightly affected, or may suffer permanent damage. A more serious birth injury, such as Erb's palsy or encephalopathy, can result in paralysis or mental retardation. If the birth injury results from the negligence of the medical staff, then the doctor/hospital should be held responsible. Birth injury costs can include emergency surgery, long term care and treatment, medication, etc. Children with birth injury conditions may never be capable of caring for themselves and the expense of treating a birth injury and achieving the best possible quality of life can be quite high. Additionally, a birth injury is traumatic and devastating for the entire family. Parents of a child with a birth injury may be entitled to compensation for the emotional and psychological distress they suffer.

When a birth injury occurs through the negligence or poor judgment of medical professionals; the family living with the birth injury may have many questions about their legal rights. As attorneys experienced in birth injury cases we may be able to help explain how to decide if the birth injury could have been prevented with proper medical attention.

If you feel your child suffers from Cerebral Palsy and wish to bring legal action to compensate your child for their physical and emotional damages, please contact us for a free evaluation of your case.