Selective dorsal rhizotomy for spastic cerebral palsy.

Spast ic i ty is def ined as a movement disorder characterised by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes. Children with spastic CP have a neuromuscular mobility impairment stemming from an upper motor neuron lesion in the brain over the areas in the motor cortex or the corticospinal tract, which descends in the spinal cord, in the lateral columns and carries signals for voluntary movement of skeletal muscles. The damage impairs the ability of nerve receptors in the spine to properly receive gamma amino butyric acid, leading to hypertonia in the muscles innervated by these damaged tracts.