Orthotic management in cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) may have many musculoskeletal deformities depending on the type of CP. These deformities may result from (i) lack of motor control, (ii) abnormal biomechanical alignment, (iii) impairment in timing of muscle activation, (iv) impairment in normal agonist/antagonist muscle balance, (v) lack of power generation, and (vi) balance disorder. Rehabilitation, orthopedic surgical intervention, and additional orthotic management can prevent and correct these deformities. In this review, mainly lower extremity orthoses are described, with brief explanation on upper and spinal orthotic applications.