Treating CP usually includes doctors from different medical departments including physiotherapists; audiologists; speech therapists; pediatric doctors; and psychiatrists. The currently used treatment modalities offer no cure, and they only aim to improve your child’s daily functioning and ability to care for themselves. Treatment differs according to the main presentation your child presents with.

Current treatments that are widely used include (1, 2, 10):

Pharmacological/Medical Treatment

Medications are primarily used to treat muscle spasticity commonly seen in CP – which causes lots of pain for the child and reduces their full movement potential. Relief is provided to the child through using muscle relaxants (ex. Baclofen tablets/Botilinium injection/Vallium injection/Dantrolene tablets).

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is one of the most importantly used treatment modalities. It can be used to improve muscle strength and flexibility, prevent joint contracture/stiffness, and improve balance and gait. There is currently a wide array of available exercises that serve a specific function according to the predominant symptom present.

Speech Therapy

A speech therapist can be integrated into your child’s treatment plan in order to improve the clarity of their speech or to teach them to use sign language.

Surgical Intervention

This includes orthopedic surgeries for children with severe deformities or contractures in order to minimize pain and improve mobility. Surgeons might lengthen muscles or tendons in contracted areas. In the case of resistant cases, nerves supplying the spastic muscles might even be cut in order to forcibly relax them.

Other treatments

Other treatments might be integrated; including anticonvulsants for seizures, psychiatric help for mood disorders, occupational therapy for adults with CP, and hearing aids for hearing impairment. These treatments are merely methods of “Relief” for your child’s symptoms; offering no actual condition improvement.

This is where stem cell therapy; once referred to as the “New Savior for Cerebral Palsy Patients”, which regenerates and restores the damaged parts of the brain of patients with CP (7).