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more_legal_areas cerebral_palsyCerebral palsy gait aberrations are the result of neurological damage to the part of the brain that regulates the muscles and other parts of the body responsible for ambulation. Cerebral palsy is a condition that a person can develop before birth, during delivery, or within the first few years of life. Cerebral palsy is a blanket term used to describe a physical disorder that impairs the brain’s ability to adequately control the body. There are many different ways that cerebral palsy can affect the body, and therefore different types of cerebral palsy gait impairments.
The ability to ambulate is a complex process that involves sensory, motor, and central nervous system functions. There are three main tasks of the gait cycle that allow a person to walk properly. Weight acceptance is the most demanding of the three and involves proper transfer of body weight from one limb to another while moving. Single limb support involves the ability of one limb to adequately support the body temporarily while in motion. The third gait task that must be mastered is limb advancement which requires foot clearance from the floor and a proper unison of overall body movements. Patients with cerebral palsy gait problems may have difficulty with one or all of theses gait tasks.
Cerebral palsy gait abnormalities are typically presented around the time that a child begins to walk. Many children with cerebral palsy will begin to walk and master other developmental tasks later than average. While most children begin to walk at a little over one year of age, cerebral palsy children may not begin to walk until the age of four and some may not even walk independently at all. The individual nature of a person’s condition will affect the onset and extent of cerebral palsy gait problems.
Cerebral palsy gait problems often depend on the type of cerebral palsy that a patient has. Spastic cerebral palsy causes difficult and stiff movements which can affect cerebral palsy gait. Cerebral palsy gait, in these patients, is typically characterized by toe walking, a crouched gait, and flexed knees. Ataxic type cerebral palsy gait may be characterized by weakness, in-coordination, a wide based gait, and trouble with fine and rapid movements. Balance and depth perception difficulties often typify ataxic-type cerebral palsy. Athetoid type cerebral palsy gait is characterized by an exaggerated step, hip and knee hyperextension, a backwards lean, and shoulder girdle and truck extension.
Cerebral palsy gait problems can often be fixed or improved through surgery and mechanical support equipment. Cerebral palsy gait analysis can be performed by a specialist in order to discover a patient’s precise cerebral palsy gait problems and how to better facilitate ambulation. Cerebral palsy gait analysis is a painless process which can help discover what types of surgery, physical therapy, and support equipment would best help a patient. Cerebral palsy gait analysis can be expensive but highly beneficial to a patient’s rehabilitation and ambulatory progress. In some cases, a patient with cerebral palsy develops their condition as a result of another person’s negligence. In these cases it may be possible to seek compensation for the cost of cerebral palsy gait analysis procedures.
For more information on cerebral palsy gait analysis, you may wish to contact an attorney who can determine your legal rights and options in a case.
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