| Orthopedic surgeons treat problems with bones, muscles, tendons, nerves or joints. Specific treatments for patients with cerebral palsy may consist of techniques such as physical therapy to decrease spasticity and improve function, orthopedic appliances such as braces to prevent deformity, and surgery to correct deformities.
While surgery is most often a last resort in trying to correct deformities, the orthopedic surgeon will be consulted once the last resort is reached. An orthopedic surgeon can fix contractures by surgically lengthening, shortening or cutting tendons and muscles which are causing bones to distort and severely affecting a patient’s ability to function. They can also improve bone deformation using instrumentation, which involves inserting a rod next to the deformed bone in order to straighten it.
|
