02 Jun 😳Been told that your child with Cerebral Palsy needs Botox Injections to reduce the stiffness in their legs 🥴Not sure if you want your child to have Botox Injections because you are concerned about side effects
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects muscle control, movement, and coordination. 👧Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy have increased muscle tone in their arms and legs, which tends to cause their elbows, wrists, ankles and knee to be stiff limiting their ability to use their hands functionally and to move their legs to walk. 💉Botox injections are often recommended by Children’s Hospital Rehab Specialists as a treatment option to manage muscle spasticity, in conjunction with serial casting and splinting like AFOs.
The injections are typically administered directly into the affected muscles, targeting specific muscle groups that causes tip toe postures in the feet, bending of the knees or scissoring of the legs. Botox injections work by blocking the signals from the nerves to the muscles, which helps to relax the muscles and reduce spasticity. This causes a chemical denervation which results in partial to complete muscle paralysis. Research in the past 5 years have now revealed that long term use of Botox Injections in children with Cerebral Palsy result in permanent denervation of the muscles, leading to permanent muscle weakness. 😳
Here at My Favourite Physio, our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists🤓 do not recommend Botox Injections for children with Cerebral Palsy due to the long term side effects that results. Instead we recommend the use of Radial Shockwave Therapy, Serial Casting, Customised Orthotics, Dictus Bands, Functional Electrical Stimulation and Early Intervention Physiotherapy to help our children with Cerebral Palsy to reduce spasticity and help them to achieve full range of motion in their arms and legs.
If you are looking for an alternative to Botox Injections for your child with Cerebral Palsy, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today!
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