Symptoms
- Abnormal muscle tone (spasticity or floppiness)
- Delayed motor milestones
- Difficulty with coordination and balance
- Involuntary movements
- Difficulty with speech and swallowing
- Seizures in some cases
Common causes
- Brain damage during fetal development
- Birth complications (oxygen deprivation)
- Premature birth
- Infections during pregnancy
- Genetic mutations
- Head trauma in early childhood
How physiotherapy helps
Treatment is individualised and includes stretching for spasticity, functional strengthening, motor learning and task-specific training, orthotics management, gait training, and parent/caregiver education.
Exercises your physiotherapist may give you
- Stretching routines for tight muscles
- Functional reaching and grasping activities
- Sit-to-stand training
- Walking and balance activities
- Play-based therapy exercises
- Aquatic therapy exercises
Please note: start these exercises only after an assessment, and stop if pain increases. Your physiotherapist will choose the right exercises, number of repetitions and progression for you.
Guide written by the physiotherapists of CAPT – Centre for Advanced Physiotherapy, MVM Educational Trust. For more reading, search MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine).