Helping children with cerebral palsy

David Ismael with his mom. David had some tendon releases for his cerebral palsy.

Over the last several years we have seen an increase in the number of kids with cerebral palsy. We can't cure these children but we can improve their mobility a little with tendon releases. These children have contractures or limited mobility in their arms and legs from the spasticity of their muscles. If the flexor group are more spastic then the arm or the leg will stay permanently flexed and if we release tendons the kids limbs are a little straighter. This can make a difference in the ease of management. Often a mother must stay home and not work to support the family because the CP child remains totally dependent and immobile without assistance.

Dilan Ariel and his mom. Dilan also had tendon releases for his cerebral palsy.

Although we don't have the statistics, we feel that there may well be a higher incidence of CP in Ecuador than Canada.