It is difficult for an adult with cerebral palsy to move because of the weight. As a result, an adult has to move in a wheelchair. With cerebral palsy in an adult (in the ICD-10 under the code G80), the motor skills of the limbs are impaired. Because of this, it is difficult to move and make sudden movements, so it is difficult to take care of yourself. Even cooking is challenging.
Features
It is impossible for such people to work, especially with physical labor. In adults with cerebral palsy, there is a developmental delay or deviation in the psyche due to damaged brain structures responsible for reason. It is difficult for such people to talk, as the work of the muscles is disrupted. As a result, there are difficulties with eating and unnatural facial expressions appear on the face.
In an adult patient, epilepsy often begins to develop. There is an abnormal perception of the surrounding world, again, associated with damage to the patient's brain. In addition, often a person with this diagnosis begins to rapidly decline in vision and hearing.
In addition to the physical consequences, the adult patient has psychological consequences. The patient begins to develop a mental disorder. Is it a neurosis?depression. Consciousness is also changing for the worse.
With cerebral palsy in adulthood, women do not have difficulties with pregnancy and childbirth. Sick pregnant women bear a child without any difficulty. Pregnant women with cerebral palsy are often advised by doctors to have a caesarean section, but this is only done in severe cases. Sick pregnant women require close monitoring by a gynecologist. Women with cerebral palsy can give birth to twins or triplets without complications. Cerebral palsy from adult parents is not transmitted to children. Adults almost always give birth to he althy babies.
Symptoms
Characteristically smooth course of cerebral palsy in adults. Over the years, a childhood disease outgrows, congenital or acquired pathologies accompany the patient throughout life. With minor brain damage and timely diagnosis with subsequent symptomatic treatment, it is possible to reduce cognitive and motor impairment. Symptoms of cerebral palsy in adults:
- General muscle weakness. Often found in patients, accompanied by pain caused by bone deformity.
- Arthrosis and arthritis. Starting in childhood, movement disorders, accompanied by improper interaction of the joints, begin to cause inconvenience over time.
- Pain. Sudden, acute or chronic pain worries the patient. The most commonly affected areas are the knees, upper or lower back. Suffering from these pains, a person cannot independently determine their strength.and distribution center.
- Premature aging. The symptoms accompanying this symptom begin to appear when the patient reaches the age of 40 years. The reason for this is the forced work of weakened, poorly developed organs in full force along with completely he althy ones to maintain the patient's body. In this connection, early wear of some systems (cardiovascular, respiratory) occurs.
Consequences
Consequences of cerebral palsy in adults:
- Basically, with cerebral palsy, the patient is not able to move normally on his feet. Due to lack of coordination, in addition to difficulty in walking, it is even more difficult for the patient to maintain balance, so the patient needs constant help from loved ones.
- The patient loses the ability to exercise some types of motor skills, because of this, he is unable to take care of himself, and there is no question of work, especially physical work.
- Many patients have a damaged structure responsible for mental state, so they are retarded or have psychological problems.
- The patient's speech worsens, as there is a violation in the contractions of the facial muscles. There are also difficulties with eating and unnatural facial expressions.
- Often the patient begins to develop epilepsy.
- Sometimes there is an abnormal perception of the world around us due to brain damage.
- The patient begins to rapidly lose hearing and vision.
- Psychological disorders appear. This is expressed, in turn, in phobias ordepression.
- It is difficult for the patient to communicate with other people due to a closed lifestyle.
Surgery
Surgical treatment of cerebral palsy necessarily involves a comprehensive medical diagnosis of the patient's he alth status. The set includes:
- EEG;
- MRI;
- electromyography;
- ENG and others
In addition to the above diagnostic complex, the patient undergoes consultations with an ophthalmologist, orthopedist, epileptologist, psychiatrist, in exceptional cases even a speech therapist, as well as other specialists, each of whom must provide his medical permission for the surgical treatment of the patient's pathology in the anatomical region, concerning their specialization.
Neurosurgery in the treatment of disabled adults with cerebral palsy is a serious and radical method of therapy. Therefore, it is necessary to use it, carefully weighing everything, and get advice from various specialists. When adaptive treatment does not provide the expected and visible improvements in treatment, while muscle tone turns into convulsions or hyperkinesis, which more and more fetter the person, and movements cause pain, neurosurgery will help. Otherwise, deterioration in he alth is inevitable.
The development of extensive muscle paralysis gradually turns into inflammation of the epidural tissue, which, in turn, affects blood circulation and metabolic processes in the body. These disorders inevitably lead to a failure of the outflow of venous blood from the cervical spine, which can lead to disruptionspinal cord.
As an opportunity to solve the problem, you can use at least 2 blockades of botulinum toxin, and when they do not work, then there are no more options.
Exercising exercises
General prescription for all exercise therapy exercises:
- Systematic.
- Regularity.
- Commitment.
- Individuality (directly dependent on the age, diagnosis, condition and psyche of the patient being rehabilitated).
- Gradual increase in physical activity.
Types of exercises
The main types of exercise therapy for cerebral palsy:
- Stretching classes aimed at reducing and removing excessive muscle tone.
- Exercises to develop sensitivity and muscle strength, including those that allow you to adjust a separate muscle group.
- Classes aimed at restoring the functional state of muscle tissue by restoring and developing the receptivity of nerve endings.
- Exercises aimed at developing the leading and antagonistic muscles.
- Endurance loads to improve organ function.
- Exercises that relieve cramps and muscle spasms.
- Walking aimed at developing gait and posture.
- Exercises for the development of the organs of perception of the surrounding world (visual and tactile).
- Exercises that develop the vestibular apparatus.
Often, patients with cerebral palsy are prescribed the development of the muscles of the body, performing a series of exercises with gradualincreasing intensity and load. If physical therapy is not used for cerebral palsy, then after a certain time period, musculoskeletal functions may not be implemented and may be depressed. In this connection, for adults suffering from the consequences of cerebral palsy, exercise therapy is important, despite the fact that with age, it takes much more time to bring the muscles to the desired tone than children.
Massage
Stroking during massage has a relaxing effect. The masseur's hand movements should be slow and gentle. When rubbing and kneading, the specialist helps to relax, these techniques are best done gently, softly and more slowly than usual.
Shaking is a special and effective technique that can be used to reduce muscle tone in the limbs.
Warm-up
First of all, the back muscles are warmed up:
- The movements of the hands follow from the lumbar region to the neck (the paravertebral regions are carefully massaged using segmental and acupressure massage).
- Preparatory massage (rubbing, stroking, shallow massaging of problem areas of the muscles).
- Massage projecting weak pain sensations to areas of the body remote from the focus of pain.
- Stroking completes the massage of the back muscles. This is followed by the treatment of the muscles of the legs and buttocks.
Massage of the upper shoulder girdle
Next step. Massage of the upper shoulder girdle, muscles of the chest and abdomen. When massaging the muscles of the chest, they helptechniques for activating breathing. In the process, a set of muscle stretching exercises should be applied.
With cerebral palsy it is strictly forbidden to use the methods of squeezing, chopping, tapping. The duration of the session should be no more than 20 minutes. The average number of massage procedures for cerebral palsy is approximately 2-3 times every six months.
Medicated treatment
Drug treatment of cerebral palsy in adults allows you to maintain and restore motor and sensory functions. It is impossible to completely defeat the disease with medicines, but it is possible to make the life of the patient normal and joyful for him. Drug treatment is often used with severe damage to the structure of the brain.
For the treatment of seizures in adults with cerebral palsy, two types of drugs are used. Various anticonvulsants are used to control seizures. They differ in the mechanism of action on the human body.
Benzodiazepines are used only as a last resort to stop a patient from having frequent seizures. They act on intracellular processes in the human brain.
What do doctors prescribe?
"Diazepam". This drug is used against frequent seizures. The dosage is prescribed by the attending physician, based on the EEG result and the type of seizures. There is no general remedy for all types of seizures. Sometimes doctors have to prescribe complex drug therapy.
For a relaxant, "Lioresal" and "Diazepam" are used. Together, they are able to block signals from the brain aimed at muscle contraction.
The drug "Dantrolene" is used to improve control over muscle contractions. These funds allow you to reduce muscle tone for the period of treatment.
For a long-term consolidation of the result, you need to use physiotherapy. The drugs also have side effects. They can cause drowsiness and allergic rashes in an adult.
Also, for sick adults, doctors prescribe a dehydrating drug. It is aimed at increasing diuresis and reducing liquor products. Patients with cerebral palsy also need to take drugs aimed at improving blood circulation in the brain. Such medicines improve the quality of the blood. These drugs include "Emoxipin".
