Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability affecting children in developed countries. Although cerebral palsy is, by definition, a 'static encephalopathy' the associated musculoskeletal pathology is progressive and current definitions are therefore somewhat inadequate. Understanding the stages of the musculoskeletal pathology is fundamental to understanding current management strategies, including spasticity management, strengthening programmes and deformity correction by orthopaedic surgery. In this review, a number of new management strategies are described, in which spasticity management by intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin type A and deformity correction, by orthopaedic surgery, are combined.