What are the alternative therapies for cerebral palsy?

The alternative therapies for cerebral palsy are as follows:

Therapeutic (sub threshold) electrical stimulation, also called neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NES), pulses electricity into the motor nerves to stimulate contraction in selective muscle groups. Many studies have demonstrated that NES appears to increase the range of motion and muscular strength.

Threshold electrical stimulation, which involves the application of electrical stimulation at intensity too low to stimulate muscle contraction, is a controversial therapy. Studies have not been able to demonstrate its effectiveness or any significant improvement with its use.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is proposed to help children who have cerebral palsy as the result of brain damage from oxygen deprivation. Proponents of this therapy claim that the brain tissue surrounding the damaged area can be "awakened" by forcing high concentrations of oxygen into the body under greater than atmospheric pressure.

A recent study compared a group of children who received no hyperbaric treatment to a group that received 40 treatments over eight weeks. On every measure of function (gross motor, cognitive, communication, and memory) at the end of two months of treatment and after a further three months of follow up, the two groups were identical in outcome. There was no added benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy.