15 Nov Have you been told that your child with Cerebral Palsy needs Botox Injections to help them stop tip toe walking

Concerned about the impacts of Botox Injections long term and wondering if there is an alternative option

Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy have increased muscle tone in their legs which causes their foot to point down in a tip toe posture. The tip toe foot posture makes standing and walking difficult and results in deformities in the foot bones, knee and hip joints over time. As such, it is important to correct and prevent the tip toeing foot posture.

Traditionally, Rehabilitation Specialists would recommend Botox Injections for children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy to reduce the spasticity in their legs. Botox Injections are used in combination with serial casting. The aim of the combination treatment is to reduce the spasticity in the muscles to allow muscles to stretch over time with several weeks of serial casting, so that the foot can be placed flat for standing and walking. However, the effect of Botox Injections is temporary and is often administrated every 3, 6 or 12 months depending on the range of movement in the ankle. Recent research has shown that repeated Botox Injections over years causes changes in the muscle cells which leads to long term, irreversible damage to muscles. The end result is permanent weakness in the muscles. 

Here at My Favourite Physio, our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists have had concerns about the long term impact of Botox Injections for Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. As such we do not recommend Botox Injections for our clients, instead we use Radial Shockwave Therapy weekly to help reduce spasticity in the muscles. Used in combination with serial casting we have been able to help our children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy achieve independent walking without ever having Botox. The effect of Radial Shockwave Therapy is also temporary.

If you are wondering whether Radial Shockwave Therapy will help your child with Spastic Cerebral Palsy, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today. or DM us @myfavouritephysio.