Orthopaedic assessment and management of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disorder of movement, posture and coordination arising from a lesion or dysfunction of the developing brain which may develop pre, peri or post-natally and is not due to a progressive or degenerative brain disease. It is the most common cause of physical disability in children, occurring in approximately 2.5 per 1000 live births in the UK. Orthopaedic management is in a multi-disciplinary context and includes single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS), spinal surgery, botulinus toxin injections and serial casting.