What does CP feel like? - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

darrinhpt · 07-01-2004, 11:44 PM

Just wondering what it feels like, physically to have CP.

Are your muscles painful? Do they always feel tight?

Does it hurt to stretch contracted limb muscles?

Thanks, it would be great to know to be able to better understand some of the kids I work with.

Strawberry1 · 07-02-2004, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darrinhpt

Just wondering what it feels like, physically to have CP.

Are your muscles painful? Do they always feel tight?

Does it hurt to stretch contracted limb muscles?

Thanks, it would be great to know to be able to better understand some of the kids I work with.

I try to give some answers, but I can only speak for myself; my spasticity is relatively mild, and it only affects my right leg and arm (upper limb more than the lower).

1) My spastic muscles are not painful but I've noticed that they fatigue more easily and if I'm for example been walking for a long time or been to the gym, my right leg may hurt a bit.
It's impossible - or at least very difficult - to get my right side as relaxed as my left, but usually I don't notice the spasticity very much. Maybe I've adapted to it or something.

2) Stretching contracted muscles hurts, not intolerably, but anyway.

sassysweetie · 07-02-2004, 11:02 AM

Stretching contracted muscles when you're a kid is painful, because you're still growing. At least that's how I've always felt. CP doesn't hurt, per se, unless you knowingly do more activity than you normally would....which not many people do. If I've been on my feet a while, they (legs and feet) start to go out on me. Even though my left leg isn't affected, because I bear most of my weight on it, it tends to go out with the right leg.

rienn · 07-03-2004, 12:01 PM

i have quadriplegic spastic cp.. meaning it is affecting all my four limbs.. it does hard to bend my legs most of the time.. my left arm is weak so i'm depending on my right arm to do all the work but sometimes my left one helps with the small things.. The muscles didn't hurt but i do feel weak occasionally, feeling like doing nothing.. must be my body stamina..

Flycatcher · 07-05-2004, 08:21 PM

I'm in much the same condition as Strawberry1 as I understand the reply, except that it's my left side that's affected. The only painful stretching that I can think of off the top of my head is when I have to rotate my left arm to be palm up (as in BP and pulse rate testing). It's not unbearable but more like it's reached it's physical limits and is being strained.
I also walk with a much more pronounced limp when I get overly tired or near exhaustion.
J~