What Is Level 1 Cerebral Palsy? Can It Be Treated in Chandigarh, India?

Mild cerebral palsy describes motor impairments developed due to mild damage to the developing brain. Some people may call stage 1 or level 1 cerebral palsy. With less severe brain damage, parents may not notice signs of motor impairments in their children with mild CP in their early years. However, as a child with mild cerebral palsy grows, these impairments become more visible to others. Fortunately, you can seek mild cerebral palsy treatment in India, and Chandigarh to improve your child’s movements. 

Signs of Mild CP

Many factors impact the movements of a child with mild cerebral palsy. For many children with mild CP, symptoms of mild cerebral palsy can be so subtle that you may not notice them until the child begins to move around intentionally. 

Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS): It is a scale to classify the level of severity of cerebral palsy in an individual. The scale of GMFCS consists of 5 levels:

• Level 1 cerebral palsy is considered the mildest
• Level 5 cerebral palsy is considered the most severe

Children with mild cerebral palsy are often categorized as GMFCS level 1. These children can walk and can perform everyday duties without help. Since they can maintain a level of independence in their life, this neurological disorder can go unnoticed and untreated for several years. Hence, it is critical for parents to identify the symptoms of cerebral palsy to avoid complications from progressing to CP. 

Important signs of mild cerebral palsy are:

• Don’t walk normally like other kids, such as walking on the toes or heels, with toes pointing inward or outward, or slightly limping
• Difficulty doing work that requires precision and dexterity such as writing, driving, etc.
• Abnormal speech, such as slurred speech, increased breathiness, inability to speak
• Children with low muscle tone exhibit slow movements, have low strength and possess poor head and trunk control
• Children with high muscle tone exhibit stiff, rigid movements (the condition is called spasticity)
• Have poor balance and coordination due to sustained damaged in the cerebellum
• May have poor posture such as leaning or tilting toward one side
• May have rounded shoulders or bent knees when standing
• May experience tremors

With early intervention and the right cerebral palsy treatment in Chandigarh, you can prevent the progression of cerebral palsy. 

Why Children with Mild CP Need Proper Treatment at an Early Age?

Though the brain damage may not progress, other symptoms such as low/high muscle tone and chronic pain can worsen over time. An early mild cerebral palsy treatment can prevent or slow down the progression of secondary symptoms. 

When a child has untreated cerebral palsy, their motor skills degrade over time. As a result, such children may develop maladaptive movements. Since children with mild cerebral palsy are more likely to learn to walk and perform everyday tasks with abnormal muscle tone, they may not understand what it is like to be able to do everything without these. Thus, at a later age when receiving CP treatment, they may find it harder to unlearn these habits. 

For instance, if you ask a child with mild cerebral palsy to walk in the correct form, they will do it correctly and demonstrate their ability in doing so but will bounce back to their old gait out of habit. 

The good news is children’s brains have higher levels of neuroplasticity compared to those of adults. Thus, a child with mild cerebral palsy must receive mild cerebral palsy treatment at an early age and consistently practice walking in the correct form right from an early age. With higher neuroplasticity at an early age, you can help your child learn the right form without causing further complications. 

The sooner you can start cerebral palsy treatment, the better the child with mild cerebral palsy will be. This is true for not only walking but also speaking, running, and even writing. 

Best Mild Cerebral Palsy Treatment in Chandigarh, India 

Each case of cerebral palsy is unique, whether it is mild cerebral palsy or severe. Thus, at IIAHP Mild Cerebral Palsy Treatment Center in Chandigarh, we offer holistic cerebral palsy treatment in Chandigarh and across India tailored to the specific needs of your child with CP.

Some of the most common challenges in children with mild cerebral palsy are motor impairments, abnormal walking, and poor fine motor skills. The spasticity can be treated through physical therapy and various other cerebral palsy therapies, including floor program (gymnastic program), handle therapy, balance board, neurostructural therapy, speech therapy, Iyengar yoga, art and sensory integration, audio-visual therapy, reflex integration, ora facial and logotherapy, homeopathy, and more. 

 If your child is diagnosed with level 1 cerebral palsy, don’t wait for complications to become severe. Connect with IIAHP now for the best available cerebral palsy treatment in India.