The Effect of Neuro-Physiotherapy on Gross Motor Function in a Male Child With Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Case Report

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition caused by a non-progressive lesion in the developing brain. CP has a wide range of prevalence, ranging from 1.5 to three cases per 1,000 persons. Newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams now account for half of all incidences of CP. Clinical management in physical therapy is a paradigm for enhancing organizational capacity, integrating evidence-based best practices, and enhancing outcomes. This is a case report of a 21-month-old male child with a history of sudden onset of seizure, fever, drowsiness, frothing from the mouth, and up rolling of eyes. He had a global developmental delay with microcephaly and breakthrough seizures with anemia under evaluation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain revealed the possibility of hypoxic-ischemic insult. The child was managed conservatively using medications i.e., ibuprofen (7.5mL/6hrly), cephalosporin (450mg/day in divided doses), and phenytoin. Physiotherapy management was provided with integrative approaches including Neurodevelopmental treatment principles, passive stretching, static weight-bearing exercises, and task-oriented approaches. The evaluation was done using the Modified Ashworth Scale and Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88). Early physiotherapy with integrative approaches helps in the improvement of gross motor developmental milestones in children with Spastic diplegic CP.

Keywords: case report; cerebral palsy; physiotherapy; rehabilitation; spastic diplegia.