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Cerebral Palsy Essay

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The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the role of casting and it’s effectiveness in the management of lower limb contractures for children with cerebral palsy. ‘Cerebral palsy describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of CP are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behaviour by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.’ (Rosenbaum et al 2007). Upper motor neuron lesions lead to the impairment of voluntary muscle function and development of increased tone or spasticity in the affected …show more content…
This area of physiotherapy is something that definitely should have further research but this is easier said than done as Cerebral Palsy is a fairly rare condition, with a lot of variations which makes conducting studies difficult. Some would argue that there are some ethical problems with casting, , and it could be thought to be unethical to immobilize a child’s joint for such a long period of time, and could essentially exclude them from social situations. But a small improvement in stride length could mean a lot to that individual. The NICE guidelines for spasticity in children under the age of nineteen highlight the importance of taking into account the needs and preferances of the children and parents when planning the treatment and care of the individual. Children and young people and, as appropriate, their parents or carers, should have the opportunity to make informed decisions about their care and treatment, in partnership with their healthcare professionals (NICE guidelines 2012). As previously said although the evidence to support the use of casting is limited, there are no know big negative effects of casting, and it hasn’t been found to disable the patient any

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