The term spastic is used to describe muscle tone that is tight or stiff. The muscle is basically always contracting. Spasticity causes difficulty moving. Often the movements are jerky. Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common type of CP. About half of all people with CP have spastic CP.
There are a couple of types of spastic CP, these refer to the parts of the body that are affected: They are Spastic Diplegia, Spastic Hemiplegia and Spastic Quadriplegia.
With Spastic Diplegia it is the legs that are affected. One common result is something called scissoring. This is when the muscles in the legs are so tight that the knees may turn in and cross.
Spastic Hemiparesis is when the spasticity is limited to one side of the body or another. So one leg and one arm are affected (right or left side). Individuals with spastic hemiparesis may also experience hemiparetic tremors, in which uncontrollable shaking affects the limbs on one side of the body. If these tremors are severe, they can seriously impair movement.
Spastic Quadriplegia is the term given to describe spasticity of all 4 limbs. Of the three this is the most severe because it involves so much of the body.
Tags: spastic cerebral palsy
kauChau
What are some of the side effects of spastic hemiperesis? Do frequent frontal lobe headaches occur as a side effect of the CP? Or frequent leg pain?