Spastic diplegia

Spastic diplegia is a form of cerebral palsy (CP) that is a chronic neuromuscular condition of hypertonia and spasticity — manifested as an especially high and constant "tightness" or "stiffness" — in the muscles of the lower extremities of the human body,^[1][2] usually those of the legs, hips and pelvis.^[3] Doctor William John Little's first recorded encounter with cerebral palsy is reported to have been among children who displayed signs of spastic diplegia.^[4][5][6]

It primarily affects the legs, although there may be considerable asymmetry between the two sides. According to Gage (1991), most individuals with spastic diplegia are of normal intelligence. As its name suggests, spasticity is a particularly prominent element of this condition. The tension in the spastic muscles during development often leads to bony deformities, especially a torsion, or twisting, of the femur (femoral anteversion) and the tibia (external tibial torsion).^[7]