Dance, movement and cerebral palsy
To mark World Cerebral Palsy Day, Ricarda Tillman, orthopaedic physiotherapist, writes about her work with children with cerebral palsy and the importance of movement activities.
Hello, my name is Ricarda Tillman and I'm a paediatric neuromuscular orthopaedic physiotherapist (a mouthful I know!). My role involves helping to treat and manage disorders in children that affect the muscles.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) present with motor difficulties that can be accompanied by cognitive impairments, alongside other secondary conditions. All children with CP have difficulties with their balance, hindering their motor functions which makes things such as walking difficult. This often leads to frequent falls and trips. This, in turn, causes premature loss of mobility and children who trip more will often rely on a wheelchair for all activities by their late teens. They are also less fit and consequently engage less in physical activity compared to healthier peers.
Undertaking physical activity- such as dance- is very important to children with CP. In 2021, we collaborated with dance charity Flamingo Chicks to run a trial of dance-based movement classes for CP. 15 children, whether they were able to walk with or without equipment, were invited to take part in the 10 sessions. Classes such as these are important for children with CP because they:
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build stronger muscles
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help mental wellbeing
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help reduce pain
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enable children to meet and interact with others with the same condition.
Children with CP often have a hard time taking part in sports or physical activity due to not having others to relate to, not getting picked for teams or simple lack of suitable activities that are the right level.
Children told us that they made friends within the class and parents reflected on changes in their children’s confidence. It was also observed that their movements became bigger, and they started to use both sides of their body. One mum told us:
"I have seen [her] do exercises before and she gets very nervous around other people and anxious about falling and things like that so she is not as confident as she could be. Where else in your classes all the children are the same they all have difficulties she can be confident and I can see her be more confident.”
With massive thanks to Flamingo Chicks charity, we have continued funding which will allow us to continue this important work for another 14 sessions. We hope to further raise awareness of the beauty of dance and its incredible benefits for children with CP.
For further information on our dance classes for children with CP, please get in touch.