Cerebral Palsy: Understanding Gait Deviations, Neuromuscular Impairments, and Pathways to Improved Mobility

This episode delves into the multifaceted challenges of gait deviations in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP), emphasizing the critical role of Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA) in identifying and understanding these complex motor disorders. It explores the four primary interrelated neuromuscular impairments of spastic CP—muscle weakness, short muscle-tendon units, muscle spasticity, and impaired selective motor control—and their specific contributions to abnormal gait patterns. The discussion extends to how factors such as muscle strength, balance, spasticity, selective movement, Range of Motion (ROM), and Body Mass Index (BMI) directly and indirectly influence a child's walking ability, participation, and overall quality of life. A key focus is the impact of walking on uneven surfaces (US), revealing specific gait adaptations and impairments in children with CP that are often not apparent on standard even laboratory surfaces, underscoring the necessity of more ecologically valid assessment approaches for comprehensive understanding and targeted treatment. The episode aims to provide a holistic context for evaluating CP, strategically guiding interventions, and ultimately enhancing functional outcomes and quality of life for individuals with CP.References:1- Gait analysis in children with cerebral palsy in: EFORT Open Reviews Volume 1 Issue 12 (2016)2- Frontiers | Neuromuscular impairments of cerebral palsy: contributions to gait abnormalities and implications for treatment3- Walking Ability, Participation, and Quality of Life in Children with Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Path Analysis Study - PMC4- Spatiotemporal characteristics of gait when walking on an uneven surface in children with cerebral palsy | Scientific Reports

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