From the Guidelines
Cerebral palsy treatment options include early, intensive, and task-specific interventions, such as Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and Goals-Activity-Motor Enrichment (GAME), which have been shown to improve motor and cognitive skills in children with cerebral palsy 1.
Key Treatment Options
- Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT): recommended for infants with hemiplegic cerebral palsy to improve hand function
- Goals-Activity-Motor Enrichment (GAME): an early, intense, enriched, task-specific, training-based intervention at home, which has been shown to improve motor and cognitive skills in children with cerebral palsy
- Hip surveillance: regular surveillance to prevent hip displacement, contracture, and scoliosis in children with bilateral cerebral palsy
Goals of Early Intervention
- Optimize motor, cognition, and communication outcomes
- Prevent secondary impairments and minimize complications
- Promote parent or caregiver coping and mental health The aim of early intervention is to promote learning and neuroplasticity, and to prevent secondary impairments that can worsen function or interfere with learning 1.
From the Research
Treatment Options for Cerebral Palsy (CP)
The treatment options for cerebral palsy (CP) can be categorized into several areas, including:
- Physical and occupational therapy: These are often considered first-line treatments for CP 2, 3, 4
- Oral pharmacological agents: Used to manage symptoms such as spasticity and pain 2, 3, 4
- Injection therapy: Includes botulinum toxin A (BTA) injections and intrathecal baclofen, which can help control chronic pain and improve quality of life 2, 3, 5, 4
- Surgical intervention: Includes selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), which may increase range of motion and quality of life, and reduce spasticity and pain 2, 3, 5, 4
- Other medical and surgical interventions: Such as anti-convulsants, bisphosphonates, diazepam, hip surveillance, scoliosis correction, and umbilical cord blood cell therapy 5, 4
Allied Health Interventions
Allied health interventions that have been shown to be effective in managing CP include:
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Action observations
- Bimanual training
- Casting
- Constraint-induced movement therapy
- Environmental enrichment
- Fitness training
- Goal-directed training
- Hippotherapy
- Home programs
- Literacy interventions
- Mobility training
- Oral sensorimotor
- Oral sensorimotor plus electrical stimulation
- Pressure care
- Stepping stones triple P
- Strength training
- Task-specific training
- Treadmill training
- Partial body weight support treadmill training
- Weight-bearing 5
Considerations for Treatment
When selecting treatment modalities for CP, factors such as the nature of the hypertonia, the impact of the hypertonia, and the individual child's needs should be considered 3. A multidisciplinary team approach is often recommended to optimize treatment outcomes 3, 4.