Constraint Therapy is being used to help strengthen muscles and retrain the brain in children with Cerebral Palsy.
7 year old, Erica Brown, has CP that affects both legs and one of her arms. She is part of a program that aims to strengthen her weak arm. When an arm isn't used, doctors say the part of the brain that controls it's function will shrink. They believe that this type of therapy retrains the brain to 'remember' that there is, indeed, an additional arm there and that ultimately helps the child regain control.
As part of the program, Erica wears a cast on her strong arm, which forces her to use her weak arm more. She wears it for 3 weeks, 16 hours a day.
Erica's mother says it's making a difference in how she manages her daily activities.
Find out more in this video report: http://www.webmd.com/video/cerebral-palsy-constraint-therapy
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