What Does Your Doctor Do About It?
Cerebral palsy is best treated by an interdisciplinary team, consisting of a developmental paediatrician or neurologist, orthopaedic surgeon, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and social worker.

Only by approaching the child with cerebral palsy in a holistic way can the person as a whole be best served. The cause of cerebral palsy is usually irreversible. So the goal of treatment is directed towards improving function and independence.

From the orthopaedic standpoint, treatment consists of techniques to decrease spasticity, physical therapy to improve function, orthotics to prevent deformity, and surgery to correct deformities.

Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy is a surgical procedure where abnormal dorsal rootlets from L2 to S1 (2nd Lumbar to 1st Sacral) levels are sectioned, to reduce spasticity of the involved muscles. Intraoperative EMG is used to guide the surgeon. Results are encouraging so far, although the long term benefits are still uncertain.

Baclofen Is A gGama-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) that is recently used to control spasticity. Taken by mouth, it causes drowsiness. But if placed directly on the spinal cord by implanting a baclofen pump surgically, this side-effect is eliminated. The results are encouraging, but complications that include pump and catheter problems and infection, are high.

Botox (Botulinum-A Toxin) is recently injected into selected muscles to cause partial paralysis of the muscles, thus decreasing its spasticity. The results so far has been encouraging, although many patients still end up needing surgery.