Hemiplegia
Hemiplegia is a condition characterized by paralysis of one side of the body, often impacting the arm, leg, and trunk. This condition typically arises from damage to the brain, which can occur due to various factors such as accidents, strokes, or illnesses. The most common cause is cerebrovascular disease, which affects blood flow to the brain, leading to strokes that damage motor control areas. Symptoms of hemiplegia may include muscle weakness, stiffness, poor balance, speech difficulties, and emotional or behavioral changes.
Treatment for hemiplegia varies based on severity and may encompass a range of therapies such as physical, speech, and occupational therapy, along with the use of braces or orthotics. Long-term care is crucial to improving strength and functionality, and alternative therapies like acupuncture may also be explored. Children with hemiplegia often benefit from specialized educational services to address learning difficulties associated with the condition. The side of the body affected correlates with the location of brain damage, resulting in either right or left hemiplegia. In some cases, individuals may experience a rare condition known as alternating hemiplegia of childhood, which involves periodic attacks that can affect either side of the body.
Hemiplegia
ANATOMY OR SYSTEM AFFECTED: Arms, legs, head, joints, tendons, muscles, brain, musculoskeletal system, nervous system
DEFINITION: Paralysis of one side of the body
CAUSES: Brain damage as a result of accident, illness, or stroke
SYMPTOMS: Paralysis on one side of body, muscle weakness and spasticity, poor balance, gait problems, speech difficulties, seizures, visual field defects, emotional and behavioral problems
DURATION: Long-term
TREATMENTS: Depends on severity; may include physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, braces or orthotics, electrical stimulation, drugs, surgery, acupuncture
Causes and Symptoms
Hemiplegia is or partial paralysis of one side of the body, typically involving the leg, arm, and trunk. It is caused by damage to or disease of the part of the that controls the motor system. The damage may occur prior to birth, during birth, or after birth as a result of an accident, illness, or stroke. The most common cause is a cerebrovascular disease that leads to clotting of the cerebral or bleeding from the diseased arterial wall, eventually producing a stroke. The site most often affected is the internal capsule, where packed nerve fibers descend from the of the brain into the spinal cord.
Immediately after a stroke, the affected body parts are initially limp. In a few days or weeks, the limbs become stiff and spastic. Symptoms of hemiplegia can include paralysis on one side of the body, muscle weakness and spasticity, poor balance, speech difficulties, epileptic seizures, visual field defects, emotional and behavioral problems, and gait problems, including limping and toe drop. Increased energy expenditure results from compensatory adjustments during walking that produce abnormal movements of the body’s center of gravity.
Treatment and Therapy
Treatments for hemiplegia are designed to improve strength and range of motion, increase bodily functions, and reduce or prevent spasticity. Long-term care is very important. Depending on the severity of the disorder, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, braces or orthotics, electrical stimulation, drugs, Botox injections, or surgery may be used as corrective procedures. Acupuncture and electroacupuncture procedures may be promising treatments for hemiplegia. Children who suffer from hemiplegia may also receive special educational services to help improve specific learning difficulties caused by the disorder. Affected children should involve the weaker side of the body in everyday activities so that they become as two-sided as possible.
Perspective and Prospects
The side of the body affected by hemiplegia depends on which side of the brain has been damaged. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, while the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. Depending on which side of the body is affected, the disease is often referred to as right hemiplegia or left hemiplegia.
Childhood hemiplegia affects up to one child per one thousand. An associated rare neurological disorder, alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC), produces periodic transient attacks of hemiplegia that affect one side of the body or the other. An attack of AHC may last from a few minutes up to days. The attacks may alternate from one side of the body to the other. The symptoms are usually relieved with bed rest and proper sleep.
Bibliography
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Neville, Brian, and Robert Goodman, eds. Congenital Hemiplegia. London: MacKeith, 2001. Print.
Spivack, Barney S., ed. Evaluation and Management of Gait Disorders. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1995. Print.
Varma, Ashish, et al. "Pediatric Patients with Hemiplegia: A Systematic Review of a Randomized Controlled Trial." Cureus, vol. 15, no. 1, 23 Jan. 2023, doi.org/10.7759%2Fcureus.34074. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.