Archive for May, 2009

Horses and Cerebral Palsy

Monday, May 18th, 2009

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For children suffering from birth defects like Cerebral Palsy, there may be hope in horses. The treatment is known as hippotherapy (from “hippos” which is Greek for horse) and is simple to administer. Simply sitting astride a moving horse can help relieve muscle or movement dysfunction by improving the child’s sense of balance, posture, mobility and function.
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Six-year-old Tyson Thompson is a perfect example of the positive effects of hippotherapy. Thompson has been going on bareback riding sessions for the past three years and can now walk without leg braces.  In fact, students at Witworth University found that Thompson gained increased muscle coordination and balance for a minimum of two days following a riding session. This is the first therapy that has not caused a regression of Thompson’s symptoms.
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Home Alone 3 dvd Victims of Cerebral Palsy have trouble synchronizing the electromyograms (electrical activity caused by muscle contraction) in their muscles. However, a horse’s movements are very synchronized. Being astride a horse causes a child to contract their muscles in sync with the horse, producing a very gentle physical therapy.

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Unfortunately, there are not many hippotherapy programs around. Hippotherapy can also get expensive, especially for a family living on a limited income ridden with costly medical bills. However, there are non-profit groups like Free Rein popping up around the United States who hope to continue expanding their yearly number of riders.

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New Stimulation Helps Dystonia in Cerebral Palsy

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Back to the Future Part III trailer War of the Worlds ipod A study of six patients ages 8 to 26 took place trying to find a cure for cerebral palsy. 

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The therapy had the best improvements in children under age 12 according to Warren Marks, M.D. of Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Deep brain stimulation has been used widely for adults, but less often for children with secondary dystonias like those found in cerebral palsy.  The researchers followed patients who have undergone deep brain stimulation at Cook Children’s Hospital for 6 to 12 months to help with their study.

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All of the patients followed made an improvement of at least one of three rating scale measures with the best results coming from children under 12 years of age according to Dr. Marks.  He stated, “The younger patients do better, probably because the older patients have more fixed orthopedic impairment.”  He noted that the treatment targets only dystonia, not spasticity, which is another common problem in cerebral palsy.

L. Verhagen Metman, M.D. of Rush University in Chicago, said that the treatment was successful in children with genetic dystonia, not secondary dystonias like the ones resulting from cerebral palsy.

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Both doctors agree that the stimulation has few side effects.  Dr. Marks stated that his findings show that younger dystonic cerebral palsy patients will likely improve in tonal abnormalities with the stimulation.  Older patients may also still benefit from the stimulation as well.

ACQUIRE program can bring success in those with cerebral palsy

Monday, May 11th, 2009

First Sunday Thanks to a program available at CoxHealth and St. John’s systems, an 8-year-old girl with cerebral palsy can now pick up items and feed herself.

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One Night with the King full movie Stir Crazy hd Some of her victories can be attributed to her work with the ACQUIRE therapy. The therapy, initially used with stroke patients and adults with traumatic brain injury, was first used with children in the late 1990s.

Water movie download Gigli video The program involves restraining the child’s stronger arm in a cast while he or she goes through six hours of daily therapy on the weaker arm to produce changes in motor behavior and the brain. The weaker arm is trained in various developmental appropriate tasks.

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In both stroke victims and children with cerebral palsy, the patients begin to rely on their dominant arm and use their weaker limb less in a process called “learned nonuse.”

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The limb works, but the patient neglects it, and therefore uses that part of the brain less. With ACQUIRE, the part of the brain which produces movement in the limb actually increases in size during the therapy.

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