Cerebral Palsy (CG) is a neurological disorder caused by an injury to the brain or a brain malformation that occurs while the child s brain is still developing   in the mother s womb before birth, during birth, or immediately after birth.

This disorder affects the child s movement and muscle coordination and control. It also affects his:

Reflexes
Balance
Posture
Motor skills and
Oral motor functions
In easy to understand language, CG can impact the child s ability to walk, talk, sit, do simple tasks like eating, combing hair, talking, and other activities we take for granted. The physical impairment caused by cerebral palsy can affect all limbs, the face and head, or it may just affect one limb. Since CG affects muscles and a child s ability to control them, common symptoms include muscles that contract too much, too little, or all at the same time, leading to limbs that are stiff and forced into awkward positions. Other complications also arise such as intellectual impairment, seizures, or vision/ hearing and speech impairment.

How does Speech Therapy help?
Speech problems affect more than half of all children with cerebral palsy as they have difficulty controlling the muscles in their face, throat, neck and head. Apart from speaking, this also affects chewing and swallowing. It can also cause drooling and the ability to learn, difficulty hearing and understanding spoken language.

This is where speech and language therapy comes in. Speech therapy improves a child s speech and communication by strengthening the muscles used for speech. It also improves understanding of speech and language as well as help with swallowing disorders, like dysphagia.

Speech therapy helps exponentially as when children improve their speech and communication, they are able to express their needs, share their thoughts and interact with others, leading to an overall improvement in their overall quality of life.

Speech therapy can help with the following:

Listening
Articulation of words
Pronunciation
Fluency
Sound and word formation
Language and vocabulary development
Breath control
Chewing
Swallowing
Speech muscle coordination
Apart from this, the other primary benefits are boosting self esteem, socialization, independence and reducing shyness. 

Exercises used in Speech Therapy
Speech therapy treatment usually consists of exercises tailored to a child s specific needs. Different exercises are used in speech therapy like:

Articulation therapy: The therapist uses language cards to help focus attention on specific sounds to encourage the child to make sounds while looking in the mirror to help him understand how his mouth moves.
Blowing exercises: The therapist encourages the child to blow bubbles or a whistle to train the mouth muscles to produce sounds.
Breathing exercises: Work is exclusively on inhalation and exhalation to strengthen the diaphragm.
Jaw exercises: The child is encouraged to eat foods that require extra chewing to strengthen jaw muscles.
Language and word association: The therapist uses flashcards with different words and sounds written on them.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) - How Speech Therapy Can Help You?

If you are looking for natural remedies for arthritis, you should opt for Ayurvedic treatment. Arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease causing damage to your joints and connective tissues. The knee gets commonly affected. There are three primary types of arthritis, which occur in your knees. Ayurveda is ideal for arthritis treatment, and there are several Ayurvedic remedies that you can opt for.

How Does Ayurveda Approach Arthritis?

Ayurvedic treatment for arthritis is based on the understanding of the various doshas or humors of the body. According to Ayurveda, there are four main humors in the body and it is these that govern our health, wellness and our proneness to disease. Arthritis, as per Ayurveda, is a condition caused due to the aggravation of vata dosha (air). The body produces ama   a toxin that is released as a by product of improper digestion. When ama is produced, it circulates in the body and gets deposited at sites that have already weakened. So when the vata is already stirring up, ama finds the perfect place to build up. That is why you experience arthritis in fingers or knees. For most people, arthritis in the knee is more painful than in the fingers because knees are load bearing joints. If you have arthritis in your knees, you will have trouble moving and the range of motion in your joints will be severely restricted. You may have to depend on people or walking aids to make even the smallest of movements.

Ayurvedic treatment for arthritis aims at balancing and stabilising the Vata component of your body. This is done by strengthening your alimentary canal and metabolic pathway. This makes sure that your circulatory channels do not get blocked by impurities, and are functioning properly. You need to drink a lot of water in order to detoxify your body. There are several Ayurvedic home remedies for arthritis treatment as well, which help in improving your motion range.

Treatment Tips:

You should start your day with a big glass of lukewarm lemon water every day.

You should opt for fenugreek which is an ideal natural inhibitor of ama and corrects your Vata dosha. This natural arthritis remedy can be taken in various ways. You can take these seeds in your food. You can also grind them, mix mustard oil to it, and apply the mixture to your joints. This provides warmth and relief to your joints.

You can opt for an Ayurvedic hot oil massage of your joints. This is effective, especially during the winter. You can use castor oil, and sesame seed oil for massaging your arthritis affected joints. Do not apply pressure while massaging your joints as applying pressure goes against the principles of Ayurveda.

It is recommended for you to meditate regularly for relieving stress and coping with anxiety. These factors are responsible for the development of ama in your body. Regular meditation makes your body relaxed and calm. You should practice yoga as it involves several breathing exercises which help in initiating you into meditation. Having effective control over your breath, your meditation will be more effective.

It is important for you to sleep early and wake up early. The disruption of your sleep cycle causes aggravation of all your doshas and causes stress and fear. A healthy sleep cycle helps you in keeping away from obesity. This improves the health of your load bearing joints, as the chances of them getting extra load because of obesity are prevented.

If you are looking for Ayurvedic remedies for arthritis, it is important for you to consult an experienced Ayurvedic practitioner. He will be able to prescribe you Ayurvedic remedies which suit your symptoms and stage of arthritis.

Arthritis: Is Ayurveda The Best Line Of Treatment?

Stroke is one of the major reasons for disability in adults. In the US alone, 7 million people suffer from a stroke in a year. After a stroke, the affected individual suffers from lots of health issues. They feel week and fatigued. An ache in one side of the body, inability to walk, and social disability are experienced. Emotional and cognitive functioning is disturbed. Continuum care is recommended for the affected individuals and they need interdisciplinary care to ensure they can do things independently. This is where occupational therapy plays a vital role.

What does the therapist do? 

Using a range of evidence-based methods, the occupational therapists can address the physical, emotional, and mental challenges caused by the stroke. Occupational therapy does not concentrate only on the ailment. It takes into account the emotional needs, desires, limitations, and activities of the stroke survivors. It helps them to recoup the skill to get the daily chores done independently. An occupational therapist surveys the home of the stroke survivor and evaluates the risk of hazards. The practitioner also helps the affected individuals in coping with the loss of vision and memory. The physical strength and fortitude are augmented. The major focus will be on making the affected reach the heights of performance in the valued occupations.

How does it help? 

Studies prove that occupational therapy does not only help one to recover faster, but also prevents worsening of the condition further. The stroke survivor, who receives the occupational therapy, is independent when it comes to daily living chores. Wouldn t it be a great improvement on the emotional health when the affected feels he or she can get things done with little or occasional help? Also, this reduces the caregiver burden. The family is relieved that the survivor can eat, bath, and take a few things without someone having to sit closer and help. This mentally boosts the caregivers and the family to motivate the survivor. The stroke survivor also looks forward to the rehabilitation treatment as the occupational therapy makes them feel great.

Transitional and community integration services can make sure that the patients are engaged in their specific environments, once they get back home after occupational therapy in the specialized care center. After a certain period, when the stroke survivors show considerable improvement, the practitioner again evaluates to find if activities like driving can be resumed by the clients. Community mobility of different choices is recommended if the client is not fit for driving. There are driver rehab programs and the driving skills can be regained.

An occupational therapist spends more time with the client than any other healthcare professional. This is because the practitioner is responsible for alleviating the challenges faced by the affected individual emotionally and physically. The practitioner not only helps the client to achieve the goals but also ensures that the client is psychologically motivated whenever he or she is discouraged. Rehabilitation can reverse the damage done to the brain. But it takes lots of efforts to learn the things to do them in a different way. An occupational therapist makes this goal easier for his or her clients.

Occupational Therapy For People Recovering From A Stroke! 

Many people are embarrassed to talk about their urine colour or urine problem with anybody, including their doctor. But, what people always forget is that strong smelling urine and the change in the colour of the urine is a serious issue. Your urine colour directly tells you about your health, especially your inner body. So, without being embarrassed you should consult a doctor, if and when, you find foul odour in your urine. Following are some of the reasons for the causes of strong smelling urine.

You are dehydrated: Urine is not supposed to leave odour. It should be odourless, but if you find strong smell in your urine, you should consult a doctor immediately. The most common reason of foul odour in your urine is dehydration. If the amount of water needed in your body is not enough then, there will be less water in your body as a result the waste products will not be diluted in water being more concentrated making the urine darker and more odour. But once you start drinking water, it should go normal. Normally, this kind of situations occur in early morning when your water intake is less or not at all. But drinking lot of water will solve this issue immediately.
More alcohol or caffeine intake: If you are habituated to drink a lot of coffee then it may happen that you find strong smell of coffee in your urine. Although it is not very problematic yet it is healthy if you reduce the intake of coffee in your daily life in order to have a healthy digestive system. Not just coffee but even alcohol could be the reason of irregular or need to urinate a lot more than usual.
Bacterial Infection: There could be bacterial infection or kidney infection which could lead to strong smell of urine. In order to ensure you should go to a doctor and get important tests done. Then the doctor can suggest treatment according to your results and if all the results are normal then you could be suggested to maintain a balanced diet on regular basis.
Imbalanced Diet: The problem can sometimes come from the use of certain vitamins from imbalances in your diet. There are substances like nitrates and phosphates in the urine which can give dark colour and odour. You should always have a proper diet and follow it in order to have a healthy digestive system. Eating lot of garlic and onion can also bring odour in your urine.
Diabetes: If you are diabetic, it may be possible that you find dark urine and odour in your urine. It indicates that your sugar level is not normal and gone much high than normal. If you are not diabetic then it may be a sign of diabetes so you should get diagnosed immediately with your doctor.
There are multiple causes of strong smelling urine but most of them could be cured easily if diagnosed immediately. But in order to avoid this issue it is better to be careful with your diet and drink a lot of water. At least three litres of water a day is an absolute necessity!

Strong Smelling Urine - 5 Common Reasons Behind it!

Almost all of us have experienced bloating, gas or an upset stomach. Yet some people experience this problem at a chronic level. Gas occurs in the stomach and intestines due to breakdown of food into energy. All of us pass gas, however some people do more than others. An average person passes gas 5-20 times a day.

An upset stomach can often cause problems and can be a difficult battle for many people. Although the symptoms of gas problems often relate to an improper diet, yet other factors may be also responsible.

Causes and Symptoms of Gas Problems

Swallowing air: The swallowed air which is not burped out, passes through the digestive system and is released through the opening of the anus. Hiccups can also occur if you have swallowed excessive air.
Diet: The reaction of different foods varies from one person to another. Also foods that lead to odorous gas may also vary from person to person. Yet, spicy foods and dairy products are the most common causes of gas. Example - Beans, cabbage, onions, radishes, eggs, carbonated drinks, sugar, packaged foods etc.
Medications: Certain medicines and supplements, including prescription drugs, can lead to gas problems and bloating. Further, medications which change the hormonal balance in the body can also cause bloating.
Medical problems: Certain medical conditions such as Irritable bowel syndrome or bowel obstruction can also lead to an upset stomach.
Common symptoms of gas problems include gas pain, cramping, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. In the worst of cases, gas and bloating indicate colon cancer. Such people experience rapid weight loss, anaemia and blood in stools.

Treatment
Modifying your lifestyle, in particular your dietary practices, is essential to a healthy recovery.

Avoiding foods such as spaghetti, oats, bran, barley, banana, bread etc. which contain high fibre content is important.
You can opt for over the counter medications after consulting your physician. Homeopathy and Ayurveda can be also opted as alternative forms of treatment.

Chronic Gas Problem - Facts You Should Know About it

No matter how well you take care of yourself, everyone catches a cold or flu at some time or the other. That s probably the reason why it is popularly known as a  common  cold. A cold on its own does not harm the body much but it leaves you feeling weakened and suppresses the immune system. Cold is a viral infection and hence is usually unresponsive to antibiotics and other medication. However, Ayurveda can help manage a cold better and speed up the recovery process.

Cough and cold can be triggered by a number of factors including a sudden drop in temperature, exposure to dust or pollen or staying in rooms with poor ventilation. Additionally, aggravating the structure, stability, and cohesiveness of the body can also cause a cold or cough. When the food we eat is not digested properly, it turns into partly digested that triggers cold or cough when it reaches the respiratory system. Some common ayurvedic remedies for coughs and colds are:

Enhance your body heat: Keeping the body warm, especially the head, throat, chest and feet, is the first step to recovering from a cold. Drinking a cup of hot spiced tea or a glass of warm water mixed with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a few times a day, can also help. Spices like cumin, coriander and black pepper are considered heat generating spices and hence should be used liberally when preparing food.
Vapour therapy: To recover from a cough that is accompanied by congestion, try inhaling the hot vapours of water mixed with a little eucalyptus oil. This helps dilate the bronchial tubes and unblocks the nostrils. Inhaling the vapours of water mixed with rock salt can help relieve heaviness in the head and a mild cold. Simple hot water vapours itself can even be inhaled to relieve sinusitis pain. To benefit from vapour therapy, it is essential to sit in a room without the fan on and to cover your head and the vapour source while inhaling the steam.
Turmeric Smoke: Inhaling turmeric smoke is said to have an antiseptic effect on the lungs and respiratory tract. To benefit from this therapy burn a dried root of turmeric and inhale the smoke a few times. If you do not have access to the dried root of turmeric, place a red hot piece of charcoal with a few dried leaves in a clay pot, add a heaped spoon of turmeric powder to this and blow gently till it catches fire before inhaling the smoke.

Common Cold & Cough - Home Remedies For It!

Don't wait any longer, manage your Kayachikitsa Specialist online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Kayachikitsa Specialist - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES