Ayurvedic Treatment of Cerebral Palsy

Dr. Saranya Sivaraj. MD (Ayu)

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affects voluntary and controlled movements. Damage to the movement control centers in the brain during childhood results in a lack of muscle control and coordination. The muscle tone, movement, posture and motor skills are affected in this condition. Cerebral Palsy is defined as a non-progressive neuromotor disorder of cerebral origin. Motor disorders of CP are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication and behaviour.

Ayurveda has a separate branch that deals with the diseases of childhood called Kaumarabhritya. As cerebral palsy is a multifactorial disorder with the vast presentation, there is no single correlation in Ayurveda classics, but, there are conditions and causative factors that can be linked to cerebral palsy in different textbooks of Kaumarabhritya. Some conditions which find an overlap of symptoms of CP include phakka (a kind of nutritional disorder), pangulya (locomotor disorders), mookatva (dumbness), jadatva (mental disorders), ekaangaroga (monoplegia), sarvaangaroga (quadriplegia), pakshaghaata (hemiparesis), pakshavadha (hemiplegia) etc., under the group of vatavyadhi (neurological disorders).

What are the causes of Cerebral Palsy?

CP is caused by abnormal development of fetal brain or damage to the developing infant brain that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles. This abnormal development can occur during pregnancy, or any damage to the brain during delivery, the first month of life, or in early childhood. Cerebral palsy can be caused by the following reasons:

• During intrauterine development:
  • exposure to radiation/ infection 
  • fetal growth restriction
  • hypoxia of the brain (thrombotic events, placental insufficiency, umbilical cord prolapse)
• Trauma during labor and delivery, preterm or multiple delivery
• Genetics
• After birth: exposure to toxins, severe jaundice, physical brain injury, abusive head trauma, incidents involving hypoxia to the brain (such as near drowning), and encephalitis or meningitis.

Ayurvedic management of Cerebral palsy

CP can be considered as Shiromarmabhighataja Vatavyadhi,

which may manifest itself in any of the following main

CP can be considered as Shiromarmabhighataja Vatavyadhi,

which may manifest itself in any of the following main

The main clinical presentation of CP can be as: spastic monoplegia, spastic diplegia, spastic quadriplegia, hemiplegia, choreoathetoid, and ataxia. These presentations suggest that there is impairment of Vata dosha which is responsible for body movement. This may happen due to avara?a (enveloping) of vata by kapha dosha. Due to this, vata cannot perform its normal function of movement of joints. By removing the envelopment by Kapha dosha, vitiated vata can be pacified by further treatment. Vata resides in sparshanendriya which is located in the skin. Hence, treatment procedures through skin can bring vata to normalcy.

Cerebral palsy may be considered as Shiro-marma-abhighataja Vatavyadhi in Ayurveda and is treated with oil massage, sudation, and warm poultice. Vata vyadhi treatment principles such as dry powder massage, oil massage, warm poultice, pouring of warm liquid over a desired body part, pouring of warm liquid over the head, and medicated enema are adopted in the treatment of Cerebral palsy as well.  These treatments are found to be effective in reducing spasticity, improving the muscle power, and improving the range of movement of joints.

Udwartana (dry powder massage) helps by opening up the minute channels of circulation and by improving the blood and lymphatic circulation. Due to its dryness-inducing and blockage-removing properties, udwartana helps in reduction of vitiated Kapha. Abhyanga (oil massage) strengthens the muscle, improves the muscle tone and reduces the spasticty due to its snigdha (unctuous), m?du (soft) and picchila (sticky) qualities. The swedana (steam therapy) that follows helps in excreting waste metabolites through diaphoresis. Basti (medicated enema) acts on CNS by stimulating enteric nervous system (ENS)

Internal medicines are also provided which are having qualities like b?imha?a (nourishing action), snigdha (unctuous) and guru (heavy) qualities which improves the growth of tissues by nourishment of Ras?di dh?tus. Ayurveda herbal preparation like Bala taila, Ashwagandha ghrita, Ashwagandharishta, Mahamasha taila, Mahanarayana taila, Kolakulattadi choorna, Brahmi taila, Brahmi ghrita etc are utilized in treatment by proper evaluation of the condition by Practitioners of Ayurvedic center dubai.