Definitions of Terms Related to Cerebral Palsy ( CP )

Acquired Cerebral Palsy - Cerebral palsy may be acquired before, during, or in the months immediately following birth. Acquired cerebral palsy may be caused by a brain infection or a head injury.

Ankle-Foot Orthosis - Known as AFO, a brace is used to stretch the Achilles tendon. Commonly made of a thin, light plastic material that is individually molded for a child. As a child grows, a new AFO may be needed.

Ambulatory - having the ability to walk.

Apgar Score - A test administered by a physician after a child is born. The physician will take note of his or her activity - muscle tone, pulse, grimace, reflex irritability, appearance, skin color, and respiration. These observations are made once immediately following birth and once five minutes later. A score of zero to ten is then calculated. A low score alerts a doctor that resuscitation may be necessary and a high score reassures a doctor that the baby is healthy. Children with cerebral palsy often receive low apgar scores.

Ataxia - Jerky, uncoordinated movements.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy - Ataxic cerebral palsy is characterized by a weakness in the muscles and wobbly, shaky movements. People who have ataxic cerebral palsy will often have a difficult time balancing and will exhibit poor depth perception.

Athetosis - involuntary writhing movements of face, arms and hands. Uncontrolled and/or unwanted movements.

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy - A form of cerebral palsy in which the patient has difficulty controlling movement. Athetoid cerebral palsy patients may move involuntarily and will often squirm and twist when they feel emotional distress.

Baclofen (Lioresal?) - muscle relaxant used to treat spasticity. Can be administered as an oral dose or intrathecally, via pump.

Botulinum toxin (Botox?) - a drug, administered via intramuscular injection, to treat spasticity.

Brain Damage - During pregnancy or birth, brain damage to a child may cause cerebral palsy. The following problems may result in brain damage - Rh incompatibility, a lack of oxygen to the baby, a mother?s urinary tract infection, bleeding within the infant?s brain, or poisoning due to the mother?s use of alcohol or drugs.

Central Nervous System ( CNS ) - the brain and the spinal cord. The CNS receives sensory impulses from the rest of the nervous system and then controls the body's response to those impulses.

Cerebral Palsy - A general term for a group of permanent brain injuries that affect an infant in the womb, during birth, or in the months following birth. Cerebral palsy patients may have limited motor skills, speech difficulties, learning disabilities, or other problems.

Chorea - uncontrollable, small, jerky types of movements of toes and fingers. Chorea is present in some individuals with cerebral palsy.

Cognitive functions - the skills of the brain, including memory, attention, and concentration. For example, memory, attention and concentration are cognitive functions.

Congenital Cerebral Palsy - A form of cerebral palsy resulting from birth injury or brain damage during pregnancy. Common causes of congenital cerebral palsy are a lack of oxygen to the baby?s brain, Rh incompatibility, bleeding in the baby?s brain, and exposure to drugs and alcohol in the womb.

Contractures - permanent muscle and tendon shortening, a result of spastic tightening of muscles for long periods of time.

CT Scan - A ?computed tomography? scan may be used to determine the cause of cerebral palsy in a child. This test scans the brain, looking for abnormalities and areas that have not properly developed.

Diffuse spasticity - term used when spasticity is in several different muscles in the arms and the legs.

DL(activity of daily living) - usually used in the plural form to refer to selfcare activities such as washing, bathing, dressing, using the toilet.

Dorsal rhizotomy - surgery that reduces muscle stiffness and spasticity in the legs. Vertebras are removed from the back so a surgeon can reach the spinal cord, then nerves affecting muscles with symptoms of cerebral palsy are cut to reduce spasticity.

Diplegia - cerebral palsy affecting both arms or both legs

Dysarthria - A speech disorder that often affects people with cerebral palsy, caused by a weakness in the muscles that produce speech. In mild cases, there may only be a slight slurring of speech; in more severe cases, the person may depend upon a voice output system to speak.

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy - characterized by involuntary movements, usually chorea, athetosis and dystonia of the limbs, trunk, face and bulbar muscles. Another name for Athetoid Cerebral Palsy.

Dystonia - involuntary slow, sustained muscle contractions which result in abnormal postures and twisting motions of arms, legs and trunk.

Function - a clinical term that usually refers to an ability (or abilities) or skill needed to carry out an activity of daily living(ADL) such as sitting, walking, eating, dressing, writing, washing or using the toilet.

Gait - How an individual walks. Normal gait requires the proper functioning of the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system.

Hemiplegia - One side of the body affected. Arm and leg may be equally or unequally affected.

Hip dislocation - the hip is a joint where the upper end of the thigh bone (femur) meets the pelvic bone. In children with spasticity, the end of the femur can gradually be pulled out of its socket where it connects with the hip. This condition is treated surgically.

Hypertonia - Increased postural tone; ?stiffness? of muscles.

Hypotonia - Reduced postural tone; ?floppiness? of muscles.

Intention Tremors - As a person with ataxic cerebral palsy reaches for an object or attempts to perform an act (such as putting on a shoe), the body part that he or she is moving may begin to tremble. Intention tremors become stronger as the person reaches the object.

Involuntary Movement - Movement that is not under the control of the brain. The movement is caused by electrical stimulation of the muscle, and in individuals with cerebral palsy, the involuntary movement happens so often that it interferes with their ability to function.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy - About 20 percent of those with cerebral palsy show some mix between spastic, ataxic and athetoid cerebral palsy.

Monoplegia - a form of cerebral palsy affecting only one limb

MRI Scan - Magnetic Resonance Imaging may be used when determining the cause of cerebral palsy. A doctor may use an MRI scan to pick up abnormalities in the brain that are not visible on a CT scan.

Muscle tone - Defines the condition of the muscles. Muscles that are affected by cerebral palsy will be either floppy and loose or stiff and rigid. Poor muscle tone limits movement.

Occupational therapy - Therapy designed to enable the individual to work with their arms and hands.

Physical therapy - Therapy designed to improve mobility and keep muscles stretched.

Orthopedic Specialist - Focuses on the bones, muscles, and joints of the cerebral palsy patient. Therapy and treatment will be directed toward preventing atrophy or contracture of muscle tissue and increasing the patient?s ability to use his or her motor skills.

Orthotics - the filed of knowledge relations to orthopedic apparatus (orthoses) used to support, align, prevent or correct deformities or to improve function of movable parts of the body.

Non-Progressive Disease - Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disease. That is, it does not get worse over time. Different symptoms, however, may become apparent as the child ages.

Quadriplegia - cerebral palsy affecting all limbs

Range of motion (ROM) refers to the flexibility of joins such as elbows, wrists, ankles, knees, hips. Spastic muscles make joints stiff; this decreases the range of motion (span of movement possible) of the joint.

RH Incompatibility - Results when the blood type of the fetus, or developing child, differs from the blood type of the mother.

Rhizotomy - A surgical procedure to decrease spasticity.

Serial casting - using a cast to stretch tightened muscle(s) and then reacting as the muscle stretches. The goal is to increase the range of motion.

Seizures - A person having a seizure may abruptly ?freeze,? fall and shake violently or simply fall down. Seizures affect about half of all people with cerebral palsy but are usually not harmful.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy - A form of cerebral palsy that causes tightness in the muscles. Because of this tightness, spastic cerebral palsy patients have a difficult time controlling their movement. Their motions may be abrupt and jerky. Spastic cerebral palsy is seen a majority of cerebral palsy cases.

Spasticity - a velocity-dependent increase in muscle resistance to passive movement accompanied by increase stretch reflexes and clonus (intermittent muscular contractions). Spasticity is due to uninhibited activity in spinal circuits and is not the same thing as hypertonicity (excessive tone in muscular structure).

Spastic Diplegia - A form of spastic cerebral palsy that affects muscle control in either arms or legs.

Spastic Hemiplegia - A form of spastic cerebral palsy that affects muscle control on one side of the body.

Spastic Monoplegia - A form of spastic cerebral palsy that affects only one limb. This form of spastic cerebral palsy is rare.

Spastic Quadriplegia - A form of spastic cerebral palsy that affects both the arms and the legs of a patient.

Spastic Triplegia - A form of spastic cerebral palsy that affects three of the limbs. This form of spastic cerebral palsy, like spastic monoplegia, is quite rare.

Speech therapy - Therapy used to increase communication skills. It may also include teaching sign language or using a communication device

Tendon - a fibrous band of tissue that connects muscle to bone.

Tolerance - in reference to Medication, refers to the body becoming less responsive to a particular dosage of medication. Accordingly, to maintain the effect of medication, dosage needs to be increased.

Tone - As applied to the body's muscles, tone refers to natural tension; i.e., the muscle's ability to resist passive elongation or stretch. Tone is the normal state of balanced tension and responsiveness of the body.

Triplegia - a rare form of cerebral palsy affecting three limbs only