Cerebral Palsy Flashcards
1
Q
What is cerebral palsy?
A
- chronic neurological disorder of movement and posture caused by a defect or lesion on immature brain
- varies in severity
2
Q
What does cerebral mean?
A
- it means brain
3
Q
What does palsy means?
A
- disorder of posture or movement
- lack of movement
4
Q
What kind of deficit is cerebral palsy?
A
- primarily a motor deficit
5
Q
What is mild severity?
A
- general clumsiness may have a slight limp
6
Q
What is severe cerebral palsy?
A
- ambulatory difficulty, inability to speak with spoken words, almost no control of motor function
7
Q
What are some causes of cerebral palsy?
A
- prenatal: 30% prenatal
- perinatal: 60% (20 week of gestation to 28 days after birth)
- postnatal: 10%
8
Q
What are some prenatal causes of cerebral palsy?
A
- fetal anoxia
- poor nutrition
- chemical toxins
- maternal health problems
9
Q
What are some perinatal causes of cerebral palsy?
A
- premature birth
- difficult delivery
- prolonged labour
10
Q
What are some postnatal causes of cerebral palsy?
A
- head injury (brain hemorrhages, infections, tumours)
- physical abuse
11
Q
What do symptoms depend on?
A
- depends on which area of the brain has been damaged
12
Q
What are some symptoms of cerebral palsy?
A
- muscle tightness or spasm
- involuntary movement
- difficulty with gross motor skills such as walking or running, or fine motor skills such as writing and speaking
13
Q
What are some difficulties associated with cerebral palsy?
A
- difficulties in feeding, poor bladder and bowel control, breathing problems, and pressure sores
14
Q
What are some left side brain damage symptoms?
A
- weak or paralyzed left side
- spatial/perceptual deficits
- behavioural style: quick and impulsive
- memory deficits in performance
15
Q
What are some right side brain damage symptoms?
A
- weak or paralyzed right side
- speech/language deficits
- behavioural style: slow, cautious
- memory deficits in language
16
Q
What are the two main types or classifications of cerebral palsy?
A
- limb involvement
- muscle tone/movement
17
Q
What are the types of limb related disabilities in regards to cerebral palsy??
A
- monoplegia
- diplegia
- hemiplegia
- triplegia
- quadriplegia
18
Q
What are the types muscle tone/movement disabilities in regards to cerebral palsy??
A
- spasticity
- athetosis
- ataxia
19
Q
What is monoplegia?
A
- only one limb is affected, usually an arm
20
Q
What is diplegia?
A
- all four limbs are involved
- both legs are more severely affected than the arms
21
Q
What is hemiplegia?
A
- one side of the body is affected
- the arm is usually more involved than the leg (arm is worse)
22
Q
What is triplegia?
A
- the limbs are affected, usually both arms and a leg
23
Q
What is quadriplegia?
A
- all four limbs are involved
24
Q
What is spastic cerebral palsy?
A
- most common (50-60%)
- excessive muscle tone, abnormal tightness and stiffness characterized by hypertonic involuntary muscle contractions
- difficulty relaxing muscles when attempting purposeful movement
25
What is hyperactive stretch reflex in regards to spastic cerebral palsy?
- spasticity affects flexor muscle groups (think pull motion)
26
How are the upper limbs effected by hyperactive stretch reflex in regards to spastic cerebral palsy?
- upper limb involvement leads to pronated forearms with flexion at elbows, writs and fingers
27
How are the lower limbs effected by hyperactive stretch reflex in regards to spastic cerebral palsy?
- spastic lower limbs may be rotated inward, flexed at hip joint, knees flexed and adducted, heels are lifted off of ground
28
What are contractors/deformities in relation to spastic cerebral palsy?
- typically muscles on one side relax when others contract, but if contractors are present this does not happen
- associated with a hyperactive stretch reflex
29
What is athetosis cerebral palsy?
- affects 30% of people with CP
- overflow of motor impulses so muscles are characterized by constant, slow, unpredictable and purposeless movement caused by fluctuating muscle tone (hypotonic and/or hypertonic)
30
What are some effects and aspects of athetosis cerebral palsy?
- fluctuating muscle tone
- problems with visual pursuit and focus (can affect ability to perform hand-eye coordination)
- involuntary & purposeless movement
- fine muscle coordination is difficult
- commonly affects upper extremities and head
- many will use wheelchairs for mobility
- gait is described as unsteady
31
What is ataxia cerebral palsy?
- affects 10% of people with CP
- damage to cerebellum
- poor balance and trunk control
- uncoordinated movement
- involuntary movement of trunk and extremities
- hypotonic
- walk with wide gate
32
What is considered mild cerebral palsy?
- can walk, speech somewhat affected
33
What is considered moderate cerebral palsy?
- difficulty with speech and locomotion
34
What is considered severe cerebral palsy?
- use of wheelchair, difficult to understand
35
What are some medical and health concerns linked to cerebral palsy?
- oral dental
- speech (35-75%)
- visual (55-60%)
- sensory deficits
- convulsive disorders (25-50%)
- ID (30-70%)
- hip dislocation, scoliosis, foot deformities
- major reflex problems (80-90%)...
36
What are pathological reflexes?
- slower and consists of extension of the great toe with fanning of the other toes and often knee and hip flexion
- reflexes interfere with smooth, coordinated movement
37
What is asymmetrical tonic neck reflex?
- when head is turned to one side, arm on
that side extends while opposite arm flexes
- startle reflex
38
In what ways can people with cerebral palsy have trouble eating?
- Severe gag reflex
- problems with feeding and oral hygiene
- slow eating, spillage, poor (or no) coordination of oral muscles and swallowing mechanisms
- inadequate nutrition
- dehydration
- metabolism of medication
39
What are some physical activity considerations to keep in mind when working with someone with cerebral palsy?
- relaxed atmosphere
- warm water swimming beneficial
- perform slow, prolonged stretches
- work through full ROM
- encourage independent movement
- make use of functional ability
- stretch daily
- avoid abnormal, involuntary, non-functional muscle patterns
40
Motor performance of someone with cerebral palsy is compared to a person of what age?
- a child - age 7
41
What are things to consider when attempting to properly seat someone in their wheel chair?
- must have proper alignment
- hips at 90 and in contact with back of chair
- thighs slightly abducted and in contact with seat
- knees, elbows, ankles at 90 degree flexion
- limit pressure on back of knees
- feet should be flat
- head and neck in midline
