Context:

The government of India celebrated World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6th October.

World Cerebral Palsy Day

• World Cerebral Palsy Day is a global movement that started in 2012.
• This year's World Cerebral Palsy Day theme, ‘#UniquelyCP’, highlights that each person is special in their own way and that society must understand and embrace these unique identities.
• This day aims to break these stereotypes and work towards building an inclusive society where individuals with cerebral palsy are respected for their identity and talents.

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

• The term ‘cerebral’ refers to the brain and ‘palsy’ refers to the loss or impairment of motor function.
• It refers to a group of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination.• There are more than 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy.
• Cause: It is caused by damage or abnormalities inside the developing brain that disrupt the brain's ability to control movement and maintain posture and balance.

     There are four main types of CP:

• Spastic cerebral palsy: People have stiff muscles and awkward movements. 
• Dyskinetic cerebral palsy: It also includes athetoid, choreoathetoid, and dystonic cerebral palsies. It is characterized by slow and uncontrollable writhing or jerky movements of the hands, feet, arms, or legs. 
• Ataxic cerebral palsy: It affects balance and depth perception. Children often have poor coordination and walk unsteadily with a wide-based gait.
• Mixed types: Children don't correspond to any single type of CP but are a mix of types. 

    Treatment: CP can't be cured, but treatment will often improve a child's capabilities. 

• Physical therapy, usually in the first few years of life, is a cornerstone of CP treatment.
• Oral medications such as diazepam, baclofen, dantrolene sodium, and tizanidine are usually used as the first line of treatment to relax stiff, contracted, or overactive muscles.