Cerebral Palsy maybe/maybe not

OK! Back to work!

Triplegia – It is hard to know what this term means. Most of the time it is spastic diplegia + hemiplegia. That is, periventricular leukomalacia (diplegia) plus a stroke – more likely focal hemorrhage or intra-ventricular hemorrhage. If you are using this term thinking it is actually something, then most of your ideas for what to do will go up in smoke. In one side we have mostly diplegia type findings but some extension stiffness stirred in. Dystonia - Certain mid brain structures when faulted will leave a condition not too unlike Parkinson's disease, as they often involve some of the same anatomy. Thickness of movement and zigzag patterns of successive joints occurs. Stiffness across joints feels uniform and unrelated to speed of testing. It is very apt to change quality and form when sensation picks up noxious change (loud noise, earache, tooth ache, bladder infection, finger injury etc.). Passively move one body part (example: head) and other parts alter their Posture typically into familiar named forms such as ‘fencing’.

Symmetric and asymmetric tonic neck reflexes are well known. But, even experienced practitioners will leave out of the list the nastiest of all – wind swept legs (one side adducts as the other abducts). Both legs headed in same direction. It is a huge destroyer of hips. It is amplified in scope and magnitude of force by sensory input. What is felt as pain in us may not be felt as pain but instead manifests as dystonic posturing. Over time distended colon causes hip dislocation. It does so often - ‘Poop hip’.