8/6/2019 Fascial Strengthening in Cerebral Palsy

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June 2010 August 2011

June 2010 August 2011

Compressional weakness is

simply the inability to support

ones own body weight when

exposed to vertical loads and/or

the force of gravity. It is this

compressional weakness that is

at the heart of movement and

posture disorders like Cerebral

Palsy. It is important to

remember that the

developmental process ALWAYS

starts with the evolution of the

primitive, simple tasks (such as

weight-bearing). The reality is

that without this fundamental

development of weight-bearing,

there is no chance of any

coordinated, functional,

sophisticated muscular

performance. Therefore, a

responsible rehabilitation plan

or protocol MUST address this

essential characteristic.

The fundamental question

becomes How do we do that?.

In truth, the HOWis secondary

to the WHAT. What is

responsible for compressional

strength?. FASCIAin all of its

differentiated forms. The

example on the right is a pure

demonstration of how much

potential there is when the

rehabilitative focus is placed on

the root of the disorder (poor

compressional strength) rather

than on the obvioussymptomatic manifestations

(muscular tension, etc). Over the

span of 1 year, and with specific,

focus attention to the thorax,

abdomen, and neck the child has

significantly improved in his

weight bearing performance

which, in turn, reduces muscular

tension to allow the muscles to

perform their designed role of

movement.

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June 2010 August 2011

In the seated position, he

demonstrates significant

improvement in his postural

performance. This improvement

has the added secondary benefit

of manifesting more coordinated

and productive use of the arms.

When he is lifted and exposed to

his own body weight, he exhibits

improved compressional

strength as well as stability in

the shoulder girdle. The

increase in shoulder girdle

stability as well as

compressional strength results

in freedom of the arms for

functional use as well as freedom

for the head to move.