Paralysis means the loss of normal muscle function in a part of the body. It can occur to any part of the body such as just the legs, just the arms, or complete lower or upper body paralysis. The signals from the brain to that part of the body will stop, as a result of which, the person will not be able to move that part of the body. There will be a complete loss of sensation in that body part, the person will not be able to feel any pain or anything else.

Types of Paralysis:
Based on which part of the body is affected by paralysis, you can classify paralysis into four types:

When just one limb is paralyzed, it is called MONOPLEGIA.
When one side of the body is paralyzed, such as a leg and an arm, then it is called HEMIPLEGIA.
When the lower part of the body is paralyzed, then it is called PARAPLEGIA.
When both your legs and arms are paralyzed, it is called QUADRIPLEGIA.
How is Paralysis caused?
Our sensation and movement are controlled by the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. So, when there is any disruption in the communication between the brain and the muscles, muscle movement and control will be affected. In the long term, this will cause weakness in the muscles and finally, end with paralysis.

How does physiotherapy help with paralysis?
Basically, there is one important thing that you need to know about paralysis and that is there is no treatment available for paralysis. But physiotherapy offers a ray of hope. It may not help in treating this problem totally, but the person with paralysis will be able to get independent and more mobile.

The first thing you need to do is, you should start the physiotherapy treatment as soon as a person is affected with paralysis. You should not waste a lot of time. Early treatment can offer better results.
The main objective of physiotherapy for any patient is to make them as mobile as possible.
When you are undergoing physiotherapy treatment for paralysis, it will stop the progress of the paralysis.
If the paralysis is due to an external injury to your brain, then you will be highly benefited by physiotherapy. The physiotherapist will start working on the external swelling and also on the muscles that are not affected by the trauma. This will result in making a paralyzed person more mobile.
Physiotherapy is always considered as one of the best treatments for many health conditions. Many experts recommend physiotherapy for paralysis.

How Does Physiotherapy Help In Paralysis?

Paralysis can be concluded as the state when the muscles lose functioning in any part of the body. Any kind of disruption in our nerve system can be responsible enough to cause paralysis. Our central nervous system and peripheral nervous system communicate and control our senses of movement. But interruption in nerve impulses can cause weakness in muscles which leads to muscle paralysis.

Symptoms
A paralysed patient will encounter symptoms like:

Decreasing the motor power
Decreasing vasomotor control
Loss of sensation
Decreasing bowel and bladder control
When it comes to treating a paralysis patient, physiotherapy is proven to be the best remedy. Physiotherapy has thoroughly helped patients with paralysis in getting to feel confident and independent. Physiotherapy includes various exercises and techniques which are developed with time in order to provide a complete rehabilitation to the patients.

Types of paralysis:
There are mainly four types of paralysis

Monoplegia: when one limb gets paralysed
Hemiplegia: when arm and leg of a single side get paralysed
Paraplegia: when legs get paralysed
Quadriplegia: when both sides get paralysed
Treating paralysis with physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is advised to patients with any type of paralysis. It should be started soon in order to improve blood circulation in the muscles. It also helps in relaxing the stiff muscles. This treatment improves the overall health condition of the patient.
Physiotherapy is also responsible for reducing any kind of swelling which takes place due to external brain injury.
Physiotherapy is helpful in making the patient stable and independent.
It also helps in maintaining the blood pressure.
It helps to improve the respiratory system.
Physiotherapy maintains the affected muscles and nerves. It provides strength to the affected muscles and works to prevent the limbs from getting deformed.
One major symptom of paralysis is a loss of bladder and bowel function. Physiotherapy helps in managing the paralysed bowel and bladder.
Physiotherapy involves different techniques which can be learnt from a physiotherapist in order to transfer a paralysed patient.
Othorsis, canes, braces, splints are the equipment that is advised to the patient by a professional physiotherapist.
Physiotherapy helps in resolving problems such as anxiety, anger, depression, a denial which takes place after post-paralysis mental trauma.
A physiotherapist provides safeguarding tips to the patient and his or her family in order to avoid accidents.
Physiotherapy has a big role in creating motivation in the patient's mind.
These are the benefits of physiotherapy which help the paralyzed limbs getting stronger and better. But it is always advised to be done under a professional physiotherapist.
 In case you have a concern or query you can always consult a specialist & get answers to your questions!

Paralysis - Can Physiotherapy Help You?

Facial paralysis can happen due to many factors. Sometimes inflammation develops around the facial nerve as it passes through the skull from the brain. This presses on the nerve and makes it stop functioning. As the nerve stops functioning, so does the muscle it controls.


This is what happens in Bell s palsy, the most common cause of facial paralysis.


Bell s palsy can happen to anyone and its cause is, hold your breath, a viral infection. Herpes zoster, Varicella zoster and HIV viruses can cause Bell s palsy.


Bell's palsy is a common cause of a facial paralysis but there are many others too that affect or damage facial nerve. These include head injury, sarcoidosis, lyme disease, growths in the ear, tumours in the parotid gland, brain tumours and stroke.


The weakness of the face usually one-sided is a symptom of Bell s palsy. The face may droop to one side, chewing food is also tough, drooling, dry eyes and difficulty wrinkling forehead and speech are other symptoms of Bell s palsy, the most common reason for facial paralysis.


Treatment:
The type of therapy you receive for facial paralysis will depend on its cause. It will also develop on how long you ve suffered from facial paralysis and the extent of damage to the facial nerve.


Your physiotherapist can help and so can speech and language therapists to deal with the issue.


In physiotherapy, a treatment called 'facial retraining' with facial exercises helps with facial palsy. It is important that you seek help from a therapist who specialises in facial rehabilitation only.


This is what you can expect from facial rehabilitation therapy-
Exercises for eye care
Exercises for dry mouth management
Exercises to make drinking and eating easier
Speech therapy
Your physiotherapist will educate you on how the facial nerve works and how it recovers. This is important to make you recover. A home therapy programme plays an important role too. It includes massages to keep face muscles mobile and healthy, stretches to lengthen muscles, exercises to help re-learn balanced facial movements and relaxation of your facial nerve and muscles.


The physiotherapist will work on your facial movement to make muscles fit. The basic idea is to slowly rewire the brain-to-nerve-to-muscle pathway. The physiotherapist s first step is to retrain you to do correct movements voluntarily, while mentally focusing on the movement.


Physiotherapy may take months but keep at it to recover completely, especially the home exercises.


Injections of botulinum toxin or Botox also help especially if you suffer from spasms in facial muscles. Surgery is also an option for chronic cases.


Remember that exercises should be done gently as well as daily to reap benefits. Always do these exercises with the help of a therapist only. Doing exercises by yourself can be counter- productive.


Facial Paralysis - How Can Physiotherapy Help You Get Better?

Polio is a virus that has the potential to infect any parts of the body including, but not limited to nerves and muscles. Primarily there are 3 types of polio namely, non-paralytic, spinal paralytic and bulbar. This disease shows minimal to no symptoms in more than 90 percent of the cases. 5 percent of the cases can show symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat and abdominal pain. Polio is a communicable disease and can cause massive damage if a proper dosage is not taken. It can spread through air, physical contact with an infected person, coughs etc.

Polio can cause paralysis: Polio has a far-reaching permanent effect on the body. It can cause paralysis on any of the limbs leading to permanent disability. This severely alters a child s life. The far-reaching consequences of the virus can only be negated through vaccination.
Weak muscle: Polio can result in weak muscles, respiratory problems and loss of reflex. If the breathing muscle collapses, it can result in the death of a person. Any of the above-mentioned symptoms can lead to weak body development altering the fate of a child.
It can spread fast and quick: Polio spreads very fast through the air, physical contact, saliva and water. It not only affects a single life but put millions at risk of the disease. A 1916 outbreak of the disease killed 6000 people in the United States and left several thousands of people disabled.
It reduces the risk of infection: 3 dosages Polio vaccination under the age of 6 can save a baby from getting polio in future. The body successfully creates polio antibodies from the vaccines and gets enough ammunition to fight it if the virus attacks it in future.
Social responsibility: Massive amount of awareness campaigns have been run by countries all over the world to permanently eradicate polio from the face of the earth. As per the latest reports, only 3 countries are reported to have babies affected with polio; Afghanistan, Pakistan and Congo. It is, therefore, a social responsibility to take part in the mission of removing polio from the face of the earth once and for all.
Save future generation: Although polio is not known to be a disease which passes through heredity, there still lies a chance for the future generation to get this disease. In order to negate that from happening, it makes sense to get the vaccines on time.
Give your kid a head start: Every kid deserves to have an equal amount of privileges like others. One small mistake on part of the parents can heavily cost a child s future. In order to make sure your kids grow up with any apprehension of polio, it is very important to treat them with polio vaccines.

Polio Vaccination - Why Is It so Important?

Paralysis is characterized by loss of movement, muscle function, and sensation. The patient is unable to function normally in the aftermath of a paralysis attack. The disorder affects people in different ways. It is either partial or complete. It afflicts one or both sides of the body. It arises in one or several areas and can either be short-term (post a stroke) or long-term (due to spinal cord damage). There are different types of paralysis such as Monoplegia, Hemiplegia, Paraplegia, and Quadriplegia. Some symptoms that are associated with paralysis include loss of memory, loss of hearing, clumsiness, drooling, and changes in behavioural patterns.

Why Physiotherapy for Paralysis?

Physiotherapy is recommended for people affected by paralysis for many reasons. Physiotherapy helps relax the muscles and boosts the flow of blood within the body. Patients are advised to use braces, splints, orthosis, and canes by physiotherapists to facilitate movement in their condition. Wheelchairs are also advised so that the patient can move about a little if they have lost sensation in the lower limbs.
In case of brain injuries, the practice can reduce the swelling and promote healing.
Paralytics are also given counselling sessions for boosting their morale. They are encouraged, educated by their practitioners and can go a long way in improving their condition.
Physiotherapy exercises are also useful for restoring lost strength in the afflicted muscles, which, in turn, prevents deformity in the limbs. Physiotherapy exercises can restore sensation and subsequently the movement in the affected area.
The health problems of the patients are also addressed during physiotherapy. Also, the underlying causes of the disorder are treated, and this helps in restoring mobility for the patient.
Physiotherapy treatment helps the patient to adjust to daily life after suffering a stroke. The efforts are directed towards making them independent. As part of the treatment program, the patients are advised about various aspects, including exercises, surgical procedures, medicines and other self-care methods. Physiotherapy produces results over time and is not an immediate solution to the problem.
Paralysis   What type of diet should you go for?

Physiotherapists advise the patients suffering from paralysis to eat a nutritious diet. Intake of B-complex vitamins is very important, such as vitamin-B12 and niacin, the patients can improve the functioning of their nervous system.
Essential fats are also recommended due to their anti-inflammatory properties and ability to restore the health of the nervous system. Some food sources of these nutrients include walnuts, flaxseeds, beans, bananas, pumpkin seed oil, potatoes, and lentils.
It is important to note that physiotherapy practices can help people with paralysis in several ways. Most importantly, the victims receive encouragement and counseling from the physiotherapists who guide them towards a treatment option that can help restore normalcy in their lives.

Paralysis - How Physiotherapy Will Help In Treating It?

Paralysis is a chronic medical disease characterized by a loss of muscle function in the body accompanied by sensory loss. The patient is unable to control the paralysed muscle consciously. Most common causes of injury are stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and head injury.  There are 4 types of paralysis and the effect may be complete or partial. The effect may be confined to only one space or multiple areas; and it may affect one or both sides of the body. Paralysis, on one hand, can be brief and may last for a short time; if not, it can be long term or permanent too. 

Physiotherapy is a health care profession wherein diseases are assessed, diagnosed and treated via exercise. It is also used to prevent a particular disability or disease. Science has yet to discover a cure for paralysis but the aim of physiotherapy is to make the patient as independent as possible. Depending on the affected area and the extent of paralysis, physiotherapy is started. Doctors recommend physiotherapy for paralysis for the following reasons

Physiotherapy should be started immediately because it improves blood circulation and relaxes the affected muscles. It can also inhibit the advancement of paralysis and develop muscle tone and the general well-being of the patient.
If the brain has suffered a severe external injury, physiotherapy assists in reducing the swelling and fastens the recovery process.
It aims at making the patient mobile and fully functioning.
Physiotherapy focuses on the maintenance of respiratory function.
Prevents pressure sores and contracture.
The physiotherapist sometimes works on unaffected muscles to compensate for the paralysed ones. Physiotherapy maintains and builds muscular strength in the affected areas. This action prevents deformation of limbs.
Physiotherapy training helps in managing paralyzed bladder and bowel movements.
Physiotherapy helps in building the morale of the patient and motivates the patient to be independent.
A side effect of Paralysis is post-traumatic depression that includes anxiety, denial hostility. The patient is often angry which may worsen his condition. Physiotherapy helps in controlling these feelings and gives the patient hope.
A physiotherapist suggests adaptive and modern equipment such as a splint, orthosis, braces as well as a cane for the disabled person depending on severity of the condition.

Paralysis - How Physiotherapy Can Be Helpful?

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