Training techniques for cerebral palsy rehabilitation

  The treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy together with rehabilitative exercise training can further improve the efficacy and promote the recovery of the child’s motor function. Parents of children with cerebral palsy can be guided by professional rehabilitation physicians to operate the rehabilitation exercise training, and they should also learn some simple and common methods themselves, and insist on the motor function training for their children every day, so as to promote the development of the child’s motor function to the best level and gradually obtain independent or partially independent living ability.  Methods: Head control training: Learning to hold the head during infant and toddler development is the main prerequisite for learning other activities. Training can be done by holding the child’s head on both sides so that the head can be steadily maintained in an upright, neutral position. In the sitting position most of the time, when the head is used to maintain the correct posture, the child can be made to tilt the trunk forward and tilt the sides, so that he can learn to control the head and keep it stable.  Functional training of trunk and lower limbs: turning, sitting, crawling, standing and walking are the stages of normal motor development of infants and toddlers, and learning and mastering these basic movements can be gradually transformed into complex functional movements in daily life.  When training to turn over, first tell the child’s whole body to relax and use the hip as a fulcrum to help lift one limb off the bed and turn over from one side to the other. In sitting training, the child is first taught to sit with his hands, then to sit without support, gradually transitioning to sitting down and being able to take the toys around him and still maintain his sitting balance. In crawling training, parents can give appropriate support to the child’s shoulders, elbows, hips and knees to encourage the child to crawl forward. Kneeling position helps to stand, so the child can sit on his or her heels and straighten the hips with parental support and train kneeling balance.  To prepare for standing, teach the child to lean forward in the seated position, press his knees downward, and practice lifting and lowering the hips. During the standing training, the child can be tied to the chest and both knees with a wide cloth belt for half an hour each time. After the muscle strength is improved, let the child practice standing on the chair, and gradually transition to standing against the wall and holding the wall, and finally reach independent standing. Stand alone training should let the child’s back from the wall 20 centimeters, hold the child’s hips, let him keep his head in the middle position, upper body flat, legs apart, the palms of the feet flat on the ground, briefly release and then support, gradually guide the child’s confidence to strengthen.  When the child can stand alone, walk training is carried out. At first, the parents need to help the child walk, can be used to hold the child’s collar or hold the child’s hip to assist walking, some children need to use a splint fixed or walker to help walk. When walking independently, the child’s gait is wobbly, the feet are too far apart, and the hands and feet are not coordinated, so gait correction training must be carried out.  Functional training of the upper limbs and hands: It is best to do this in a stable position, with emphasis on correcting the spasticity pattern of the upper limbs of the child with cerebral palsy. The child’s arm can be raised and abducted by grasping the outside of the elbow with one hand and holding the child’s hand with the other. Keep the shoulder externally rotated and the elbow straight with the palm up. Encourage the child to bring his hands to his chest, play with his fingers, and grasp various toys of different shapes and colors.  Language training: Start with the easier sounds, the trainer’s mouth should be large, the volume should be loud, with expressions and movements. Gradually teach the child to say his or her own name and that of his or her family. To arouse the child’s interest, use card drawings to show the child the pictures and learn to say them. Or play games with the child to teach him/her to speak in an entertaining way.