The bobath concept in the treatment of cerebral palsy

Dr. Bobath has defined cerebral palsy as "the result of a lesion or maldevelopment of the brain, nonprogressive in character and existing from earliest childhood. The motor deficit finds expression in abnormal patterns of posture and movement, in association with an abnormal postural tone. The lesion, which is present in the brain when it is still immature, interferes with the normal motor development of the child."(1) That is, he considers that the essential deficit is in the derangement of "the normal postural reflex mechanism", and he regards this "postural reflex mechanism" as comprising the integrated activity of automatic reactions, which are said to include equilibrium, righting and other protective reactions. These develop in sequence in the child and are related to normal tone. This postural reflex mechanism enables us to perform antigravity function and gives us postural fixation to enable us to perform skilled activities.