If your child has cerebral palsy, then he probably has problems with walking. Cerebral palsy is a disorder that impairs your ability to control your movement because of damage to the brain. According to TARE, around 500,000 adults and children in the United States exhibit one or more symptoms of this condition.  Pediatric physical therapy is a treatment option that can help your child to live a normal life.

Improve Movement

Cerebral palsy causes children to have problem with moving their limbs. As your child ages, this problem will only get worse. Physical therapy is one of the first steps in treating cerebral palsy.  It uses flexibility and strength exercises, massages, exercise equipment and heat treatment. This type of therapy helps your child to gain independence.

The effectiveness of physical therapy depends on the type of cerebral palsy and the severity. It can decrease jerky movements and muscle tension for patients with spastic cerebral palsy. Spastic patients are also taken through a session of stretching that will help with long-term stiffness.

Physical therapy can help patients with athetoid cerebral palsy to gain more control of their movements and increases muscle tone. Balance is another problem and one that is faced by patients with ataxic cerebral palsy. These exercises can also improve balance. It is important for your child to receive physical therapy as soon as possible for chances of improvement.

Location Of Movement Issues

Some children have movement issues in certain areas of their body. They may be limited to movement on one side of their body. This is called a hemiplegia. Other locations for movement issues include the legs, all four limbs and the torso. Physical therapists can customize treatment plans based on your movement problem. They can also recommend special exercises that can help your child to regain movement in the affected area.

Assist With Posture

Cerebral palsy affects your posture and may cause you to walk bent over. Physical therapy can help with transitional movements, balance, posture and walking. This type of therapy improves posture through a series of exercises that put focus on standing, kneeling and sitting. If you have an infant with cerebral palsy, then you should get him or her into therapy. There are exercises that can help your infant with sitting up and rolling over. The purpose of the training is to help your infant to walk.

It is difficult for a parent to watch their child go through an illness. As a parent, you have to be strong and provide your child with the necessary resources.

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