Library · Disease
Cerebral palsy
Make it clearer
Cerebral palsy is not a single disease: it is a group of permanent disorders that affect how movement develops and that limit what a person can do. It appears in childhood and permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination.
The origin lies in the brain while it is still forming. There are changes in that developing brain that interfere with its ability to direct movement and to maintain posture and balance. That is why the name has two parts: cerebral, for where the problem is, and palsy, for what is seen.
There is something worth saying clearly, because it is often misunderstood. The injury that causes cerebral palsy is not progressive: it happened and it is not still advancing, and it may have happened before birth, during delivery, or afterward. It is like a mark made in the trunk of a tree: it stayed there and does not keep growing.
In brief
Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent disorders that affect the way movement develops and that limit a person's activity.
It arises from changes in the developing brain that interfere with the brain's ability to direct movement and to maintain posture and balance.
The brain injury that causes it is not progressive, and it can happen before, during, or after birth.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingCerebral Palsy, StatPearlsPublished
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeCerebral Palsy, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokePublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated