Causes of lymphedema, conservative and surgical methods of treatment

Causes, signs and treatment of paralysis

Paralysis is the complete lack of movement that occurs due to the impression of the motor pathways of the nervous system - a set of its nervous structures that are responsible for motor activity. According to statistics, paralysis of the right or left side of the body occurs most often after a stroke, with a lower frequency - paralysis of other moving parts of the body (arms, legs, larynx, diaphragm, etc.).

Paralysis happens:

functional - in this case, purely functional disorders are observed on the part of the nervous system, the structure of its structures does not change;
organic – arises against the background of anatomical and morphological (at the tissue level) changes in the structures of the nervous system.

Functional paralysis in most cases occurs due to the formation of a so-called stagnant area of inhibition in the brain, due to which the muscles are not commanded to contract.

Organic paralysis is formed due to the fact that such factors as:

some chemicals (for example, potassium cyanide causes paralysis in humans);
some medical drugs (for example, muscle relaxants disable the diaphragm, this is practiced during cavity operations);
toxins (of bacterial and viral origin, industrial, those formed as a result of metabolic disorders or the breakdown of body tissues). This is a universal factor - it can equally cause paralysis of the legs in adults, lack of motor activity of the diaphragm, paralysis of the larynx, and so on;
new growths (benign and malignant, including metastatic);
trauma;
radiation exposure;
hypothermia.

Classification of paralysis

According to their development, acute and flaccid paralysis are distinguished. In the first case, symptoms develop very quickly, in the second case, immobilization develops gradually.

By the location of the lesion, paralysis is divided into:

central - occur when the spinal cord and brain are damaged;
peripheral - formed due to disturbances on the part of the peripheral nervous system (nerve endings, plexuses, trunks).

There are certain typical types of paralysis that have received their own names. It:

monoplegia – paralysis affects only one limb (for example, progressive paralysis of the arm);
hemiplegia – paralysis affects the left or right half of the body;
paraplegia - there are no movements in both arms or legs at the same time;
tetraplegia – there is paralysis of a significant part of the body (including upper and lower limbs);
ophthalmoplegia – paralysis of the muscles that provide motor activity of the eyes.

What diseases cause paralysis

Most often, paralysis can be observed in such diseases as:

stroke (paralysis of the right or left side of the body after a stroke is observed, according to various data, in 40-55% of all clinical cases of paralysis);
spinal cord injury;
damage of a large nerve trunk;
poliomyelitis (infection of the nervous system by poliovirus);
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (progressive degeneration of the central nervous system);
botulism (infection of the central nervous system by clostridia);
multiple sclerosis (destruction of CNS structures due to failure of the immune system - treatment of paralysis in this case is related to treatment of immune failures);
mite damage;
poisoning with mercury, organophosphorus compounds (including combat poisons - such as sarin, soman, tabun).

Symptoms of bulbar paralysis and other types of pathology

By the degree of development of symptoms, paralysis is:

partial;
full.

If motor activity is restored, transient paralysis is recorded, if not - irreversible.

If the symptomatology affects only one location, it is a rare paralysis, if several - it is widespread. Often, the severity of the consequences of paralysis does not depend on its prevalence. Thus, the consequences of spastic paralysis of the larynx, which manifests itself in the form of yaduha, can be more critical than, for example, paralysis of both arms and legs.

The symptoms of paralysis depend on its type:

severe headaches appear when the facial nerve is affected;
immobilization of the tongue develops with bulbar paralysis;
with paralysis of the diaphragm, breathing stops;
with spastic paralysis of the larynx, a spasm of the upper respiratory tract occurs;
symptoms of obstetric paralysis (Duchenne-Erbe) in children are dangling of the affected arm

and so on.

Treatment of paralysis

The methods of treatment of this pathology are very diverse and depend on the factors that provoked the paralysis.

The basis of the therapy is the following appointments:

bed mode;
elimination of the cause that could cause paralysis (a tumor pressing on the nerve trunk, an infectious agent, neurotoxic poisons, etc.);
vascular therapy (for example, with signs of bulbar paralysis);
drugs that improve metabolic processes in nervous tissue (including vitamin therapy);
special therapy that depends on the disease that caused the paralysis. Thus, for Bell's palsy, which occurs when the facial nerve is damaged, salicylates and corticosteroids are prescribed, and for paralysis accompanied by increased muscle tone, melictan is administered;
therapeutic physical education;
massage.

The success of treatment depends not only on drugs, but also on non-drug methods of treating paralysis - yes, when using massage for recovery in paralysis, the effectiveness of treatment increases by 25-40%. Caring for such patients is also of great importance - prevention of bedsores, congestive pneumonia, and so on.

On our site Dobrobut.com, you will receive answers to specific questions about paralysis - what research methods are used in the diagnosis of this pathology, how to treat partial paralysis of the lower extremities, what is the prevention of bulbar paralysis, and so on.

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