Cerebral Palsy Physical Therapy

Though cerebral palsy (CP) is considered an incurable condition, there are ways to ease the patient's pain and improve their quality of life. Physical therapy is one of the most beneficial treatments for those with CP, as it may improve one's range of motion, walking speed, and achieve other goals. 

While every parent would want a child with cerebral palsy to get the physical therapy they need, not every parent can afford it. Consider hiring a lawyer to fight for a fair settlement or verdict that covers your child's therapy, other medical needs, and other CP-related damages. Call the Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance network today to be connected with a birth injury attorney.

There Is No Cure for Cerebral Palsy, But There Are Treatments

For now, there is no cure for cerebral palsy. Once parents accept this difficult fact, they must turn their attention to the best available treatments for improving their child's quality of life as much as possible.

Physical therapy may be just one aspect of a multi-pronged plan you pursue to improve your child's life, and that plan may include:

• Speech and language therapy: Developmental delays are common among children with CP. Speech and language therapy may be one of several ways that you encourage your child's ongoing development. A child's ability to communicate is key to their quality of life (and a parent's), and you may determine that speech and language therapy is necessary.
• Physical therapy: Sometimes referred to as physiotherapy, physical therapy is one of the most important features of a CP-specific treatment plan. The physical symptoms of cerebral palsy are among the most debilitating, and physical therapy is targeted to address those symptoms. 
• Surgery: Some children and adults with cerebral palsy undergo surgery. Some surgeries can relieve muscle tension, while others are necessary to address injuries and conditions that emerge without warning. From correcting scoliosis to correcting conditions that cause incontinence, surgery may be necessary to improve your child's quality of life.
• Medications: Many people with cerebral palsy face a lifetime of medications. These meds may relieve pain, help control seizures, or achieve other means. Cerebral palsy-related medications can be expensive, particularly when someone has to take them indefinitely.
• Ongoing medical treatment: Cerebral palsy can cause acute health problems that require immediate medical treatment. Your child will likely also need ongoing medical care even when they're not suffering an acute problem. 

An attorney will work closely with your family and your child's doctors. They will gain a complete understanding of your child's medical needs so they can fight for the compensation your family is entitled to.

The Proven Benefits of Physical Therapy for Those with Cerebral Palsy

Children with cerebral palsy deal with debilitating symptoms, and parents are often desperate to find any semblance of relief. Physical therapy is one of the low-risk means to improving a child's quality of life.

Studies have shown that various forms of CP-specific physical therapy can improve the child's:

• Coordination
• Gait
• Endurance
• Balance
• Range of motion
• Pain threshold

In other words, physical therapy can help children with CP move more easily, safely, and confidently. These outcomes may:

• Help the child feel greater freedom 
• Help the child be more independent 
• Improve the child's mood, outlook, and quality of life
• Allow the child to better harness the benefits of physical movement
• Improve parents' quality of life as they see their child striving, overcoming challenges, and engaging in activities they enjoy

You cannot put a price on improving your child's quality of life—those who provide the therapy will, though. For now, let's recognize the benefits of providing a child with physical therapy. Later, we'll discuss how you may obtain the compensation you need for your child's treatment. 

Physical Therapy May Help Specific Symptoms Associated with Cerebral Palsy

Physical therapists generally have target outcomes when working with patients. Their goal may be to mitigate specific symptoms your child endures because of their cerebral palsy, including:

• Muscle spasticity, which can cause rigidity, exaggerated and unpredictable reflexes, and general pain and discomfort
• Muscles that lack definition or strength which can impede the child's ability to care for themselves
• Muscle tremors
• Difficulty using fine motor skills
• Poor balance and coordination

Physical therapists should tailor their therapies to each patient. Your child's CP symptoms are unique to them, and providers will target symptoms most readily addressed with physical therapy. 

Common Types of Physical Therapy That May Help Someone with CP

Medical providers have devised many types of therapy that can benefit children and adults with cerebral palsy. Your child may already be receiving, or may eventually undergo:

• Gait training: Difficulty walking is one of the most common challenges for those with CP. Gait training aims to reduce leg-muscle spasticity, improve range of motion in the lower body, and promote balance. 
• Range of motion exercises: Muscle rigidity and other CP symptoms make it difficult for children to move fluidly. Range of motion exercises may require nothing more than a therapist manipulating the patient's body parts. Even so, this and other types of range of motion exercises can be immensely beneficial.
• Water therapy: Also known as aquatic therapy, consists of several types of treatments that those with CP can complete in the water. Such therapy can minimize pressure on the patient's joints while granting them a rare sense of weightlessness. In addition to its physical benefits, water therapy may provide significant psychological benefits.
• Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT): CIMT is a therapy meant to strengthen areas of the body affected by cerebral palsy. If your child is weaker on the left side, for instance, this form of therapy might help them strengthen the left side of their body. Having similar strength on all sides of the body can improve quality of life and reduce the risk of future injury. 
• Stretching: Everyone can benefit from stretching, but those with cerebral palsy derive unique benefits. The muscle rigidity associated with CP demands frequent stretching, and a physical therapist can help your child stress safely and effectively.

You may already be familiar with some of these therapies. As your child grows, you may become increasingly familiar with more of them. 

The goal should be, if you discover that your child can benefit from any form of therapy, you can afford it. A lawyer will share this goal and strive to obtain the compensation you and your child need for therapy and other CP-related expenses. 

Physical Therapy, Like All CP-Related Medical Treatment, Costs Money

Parents are often encouraged reading and learning about the immense benefits of physical therapy (and other treatments). However, those interacting with the medical system will have a lingering question: How much will this cost?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once estimated that the lifetime cost of caring for someone with cerebral palsy is $921,000. Some of the damages that your attorney may seek compensation for include:

The Cost of All Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation for Your Child

Now that you know the high long-term cost of caring for a child with CP, know that a lawyer will seek compensation covering:

• All the medical care your child has already received
• Surgeries
• Imaging 
• All doctors' visits
• Physical therapy
• Medications
• Medical equipment
• All other medical services and items related to the cerebral palsy

Calculating the long-term cost of cerebral palsy is no simple feat. Your attorney will likely work with one or more medical experts and economists to determine that cost.

Your Child's Pain and Suffering (and Your Pain and Suffering as a Parent)

Pain and suffering is perhaps the most difficult aspect of having a child with cerebral palsy. While the child suffers the immediate effects of the condition, parents suffer too.

Types of pain and suffering that may affect the child, parent, or both include:

• Physical pain and discomfort
• Emotional anguish
• Psychological distress
• Anxiety 
• Depression
• Lost quality of life
• Sleep loss

Parents are connected to their children, and your attorney will consider how pain and suffering affects every member of the family. Your attorney will also account for the pain of developmental delays, physical difficulties, and other challenges your child faces. 

Any Mental Health Treatment You or Your Child Will Require

Parents of disabled children often endure psychological and emotional rigors. If you need medication, counseling, or other types of treatment to address your personal challenges, your lawyer will account for the cost of your mental health services.

If your child may need mental health treatment as they get older, your attorney will account for the cost of those services, too.

The Cost of Any Professional Changes You Must Make (Which Ties Into Caregiver Costs)

When your child is born with cerebral palsy, you may face a choice that you weren't prepared for. You may have to make changes to your career or hire a caregiver to provide the care your child needs. In some cases, both options may be necessary.

When they are seeking compensation for clients, cerebral palsy attorneys account for:

• Income you lose if you leave your career
• Earning power you lose if you reduce your hours, change jobs, or take other measures so you can care for your child 
• Any benefits you lose if you must leave your job
• The cost of any caregivers you must hire to help care for your child

Cerebral palsy lawyers are familiar with the toll that the ailment takes on both parent and child. They will account for every economic and non-economic harm you face.

The Cost of Raising an Adult with Cerebral Palsy

Because of the lack of a cure, cerebral palsy can be a lifetime condition. This means that parents must often:

• House their child into their adult years
• Pay for food, clothing, and other essentials
• Make financial sacrifices that they may not have planned for

If someone's negligence caused your child's cerebral palsy, you should not have to bear these costs. A law firm will work to ensure liable parties cover the cost of supporting an adult child, as well as all other damages related to cerebral palsy.

How Can I Get Compensation to Cover My Child's Physical Therapy?

Hiring an attorney is how many parents seek compensation for their child (and their own damages). Your attorney will:

• Research all the relevant details of your client's condition, including how and why they developed cerebral palsy
• Determine whether medical malpractice or any other type of negligence contributed to your child's cerebral palsy
• Explaining your options for seeking compensation, which may include a medical malpractice claim and medical malpractice lawsuit
• Lend their advice about the most appropriate case strategy based on your unique circumstances

A lawyer's job is to recognize the hardship you and your child face. They will make the process of seeking compensation easy—you deserve that.

What a Cerebral Palsy Attorney Will Do for You and Your Child

Medical malpractice lawyers skilled in cerebral palsy cases are proactive servants to their clients. An attorney knows how full your slate of responsibilities are, so they will handle every step of your case, including:

• Securing evidence of medical malpractice: Your lawyer will work with experts, obtain medical records, and take other necessary steps to prove medical malpractice.
• Obtaining proof of your family's damages: Your legal team will gather medical records, medical experts' testimony, mental health experts' testimony, and other proof of the harm cerebral palsy has caused you and your child.
• Pursuing a settlement covering your family's damages: Once your lawyer has secured all available proof of your damages, they will fight for liable parties to pay the money you deserve.
• Leading all necessary legal proceedings: If you need to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, your lawyer will handle the legal process in its entirety.

Your lawyer will be the resource your family needs and deserves. 

Call the Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance to Connect with a Birth Injury Attorney

An attorney will fight for a better life for you and your child. They will consider the entire scope of your family's hardship, and specifically your child's current and future medical needs.

Call the Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance today and connect with a birth injury attorney.