What is the most common movement disorder seen in patients with cerebral palsy?

The most prevalent movement disorder in patients with cerebral palsy is spastic diplegia, which is characterized by increased muscle tone and stiffness primarily affecting the legs more than the arms. This condition arises from damage to the brain that often occurs during fetal development or shortly after birth, impacting areas that control voluntary motor movements.

In patients with spastic diplegia, the increased muscle tone leads to difficulties with balance, coordination, and mobility, resulting in a broader range of functional impairments. This motor pattern can restrict movement and often requires therapeutic interventions to enhance mobility and quality of life.

While ataxia, hemiplegia, and dystonia are also types of movement disorders associated with cerebral palsy, they are less common than spastic diplegia. Ataxia mainly involves a lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements, hemiplegia affects one side of the body, and dystonia involves uncontrollable muscle contractions. In contrast, spastic diplegia is specifically defined by the bilateral nature of muscle stiffness, predominantly affecting the lower limbs, making it the most frequently observed disorder in this population.