Which type of cerebral palsy is most common?

• A. Hypotonic
• B. Athetoid
• C. Spastic
• D. Ataxic

Answer: (C)

Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type, and that comes from how brain injury affects movement control. When the motor cortex and the corticospinal (pyramidal) pathways are damaged, the brain’s normal signals to muscles become exaggerated, leading to increased tone and stiffness—spasticity—and hyperactive reflexes. This pattern shows up in various distributions, like one side of the body (hemiplegia), both legs more than arms (diplegia), or all four limbs (quadriplegia), making spastic CP the predominant presentation in most children with cerebral palsy.

In contrast, dyskinetic (athetoid) CP stems from injury to the basal ganglia and causes involuntary writhing movements, while ataxic CP involves cerebellar pathways and presents mainly with balance and coordination problems; these are less common than the spastic form. Hypotonia isn’t a primary CP type by itself, even though low tone can appear early on.