Getting out of the misunderstanding of cerebral palsy treatment in children

  With the rapid development of China’s economic construction, the gradual improvement of people’s living standards, the further improvement of women’s and children’s health care and neonatal resuscitation techniques, the incidence of childhood infectious diseases has been gradually decreasing in recent years, but the trend of neurological diseases in childhood is gradually increasing, and this situation is receiving great attention from the majority of pediatric medical workers.  Cerebral palsy itself is not a disease in the usual sense; it is an injury to fetal brain tissue during development in the absence of external stimuli. The damage is non-progressive, but permanent and lifelong. Cerebral palsy places a huge burden on the affected child, the family, and society financially, mentally, and psychologically. Therefore, how to rehabilitate children with cerebral palsy so that they can gain the ability to take care of themselves and live independently as soon as possible is a great challenge and the greatest wish of medical workers and parents of the affected children.  Cerebral palsy is characterized by motor dysfunction during the development of the child, which may be accompanied by abnormalities in vision, hearing, sensation, behavior and intelligence. However, clinical practice proves that due to the plasticity of immature brain tissue in children, as their nervous system continues to develop and the myelination of nerve fibers continues to improve, it is entirely possible to improve or even approach normal motor dysfunction and other concomitant dysfunctions caused by brain injury if early intervention can be made. This requires close cooperation between medical personnel and parents to grasp the abnormal signs of high-risk newborns in time for early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment.  It is reported that in the 1980s, China has carried out the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy, and gradually figured out a more complete set of treatment methods. However, some parents and medical workers still have many misconceptions about cerebral palsy and treatment methods, which delay the best rehabilitation period of the child and affect the rehabilitation effect of the child to a great extent.  Misconception 1: Although some parents find that their children have unexplained crying, poor feeding, too quiet, and body jerking when frightened before the age of half a year, they simply think that their children are young and weak, are they catching a cold? Is it bad digestion? Is it infected with other diseases?  Myth 2: When parents of premature babies see that their children are lagging behind other normal children of the same age in terms of rolling over, lying down, sitting, standing, walking and other motor development, they often simply think that it is caused by prematurity and that the child will recover slowly with natural growth and development, often taking a “wait and see, wait” attitude.  Misconception 3: When parents find that their children have abnormal posture in sports, they often think that it is the child’s bones and muscles that have problems, and miss the time to seek medical advice.  Misconception 4: Once a child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, parents are often the first to blindly seek medical help, hoping that the child’s motor malfunction can be relieved through conventional “injections and medication”.  Myth 5: Parents place their hope for a “cure” on surgery, but neglect post-operative rehabilitation, resulting in a lack of improvement or “relapse” in some children.  Misconception 6: Some parents of children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy simply hope for functional training, orthopedic devices and other non-invasive treatments for their children, but ignore the adverse effects caused by the high level of long-term muscle spasticity commonly found in children with cerebral palsy, delaying the opportunity for further functional improvement.  Myth 7: Some medical professionals emphasize that motor training can replace everything; other doctors overstate the “effectiveness” of surgery; and some doctors let all children with cerebral palsy have a single treatment, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, regardless of the reason.  Medical professionals should scientifically grasp the principles of cerebral palsy rehabilitation treatment for children with cerebral palsy, and make a targeted, comprehensive and systematic rehabilitation plan for different children with different conditions.  For premature infants, children with a history of asphyxia at birth and pathological jaundice after birth should be closely followed up and observed. If you find that a child within 3 months of age is easily startled, cries more than once, has difficulty sleeping, has difficulty eating milk, has difficulty swallowing and chewing, has hug-like fright when hearing sounds or changing positions, cries, has reduced voluntary activity, and has his head and body jerked backward when crying; at 4 to 5 months of age, the child’s head is still not straight, his eyes do not follow objects, and he does not reach for objects; at 6 to 8 months of age, the child still does not sit alone, and other such manifestations, parents should Parents should bring their children to the hospital promptly.  Children with risk factors and clinical signs and symptoms should be given comprehensive rehabilitation treatment. These include: motor training and upper limb occupational therapy for limb movement dysfunction; speech therapy and music therapy to promote language and intellectual development; special education, stylistic therapy and sensory integration training for older children; application of drugs (nerve growth factor, gangliosides, etc.) to improve the nutritional metabolism of brain tissue and protect neurons; Chinese massage, hydrotherapy and surgery to reduce and improve the range of motion of limb joints. surgical procedures, etc. In addition, depending on the age of the child and the degree of dysfunction, the use of the necessary orthopedic devices can help to improve motor function.