Contents
Massage for cerebral palsy for children: a technique how to do acupressure
Massage for cerebral palsy is started 1,5 months after the baby is born. This procedure helps to avoid complications caused by congenital motor disorders, but should be performed by a specialist or trained parents.
To carry out massage for patients with cerebral palsy, such techniques are used – rubbing and kneading, vibration and stroking. Massaging movements directed from the center to the periphery relax the muscles compressed by spasms.
Massage for cerebral palsy begins in infancy
There are several types of massage – alternative, hardware, classic and acupressure. The classical method is the most difficult; when it is carried out, non-specialists most often make mistakes. A brief description of the sequence of actions of the masseur:
- Before starting the procedure, the child should relax as much as possible, the area of the back and limbs for this is kneaded and stroked. The mistake is the incomplete contact of the masseur’s hand with the baby’s body and short abrupt movements.
- After relaxing stroking, they proceed to rubbing, it helps to eliminate adhesions, breaks up the deposits of toxins formed inside the body. Rubbing is performed with fingers, and in the area of the hips and back – with the base of the palm.
- The next technique – kneading helps to increase the intensity of blood flow and stimulates muscle performance.
Acupressure massage is used to increase the effectiveness of the impact. The massage therapist should go through each part of the body at least 2 times.
It can be of two types – exciting and inhibiting. With the inhibitory form of massage, a pinch of three fingers is pressed on the points for up to 60 seconds or rotational movements are performed clockwise.
With the stimulating method, the duration of pressing does not exceed 10 seconds. This effect is recommended in case of decreased muscle tone.
What are the benefits of massage and contraindications
After regular massage, a patient with infantile cerebral palsy shows positive changes in health:
- decreases tension and muscle spasm;
- muscles grow normally;
- improves blood circulation and metabolism;
- immunity increases;
- internal organs restore normal functioning.
For some concomitant diseases, doctors do not recommend massage, for example, for infectious ailments, skin diseases, acute forms of allergies, inflammation of the lymph nodes.
An integrated approach – a combination of gymnastics, massage and drug therapy helps to develop the skills and abilities of a sick baby. There are many author’s massage methods, one of them is described in the video.