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Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury both have detrimental effects on the body function. Commonly, they result in some levels of muscle weakness and paralysis. The complications after a stroke or a spinal cord injury negatively impact not only the patients’ health, but their quality of life. Therefore, it is important that rehabilitation therapy starts at an early stage after the incidence to enable the patients to adapt to their new conditions and maximise their life. Physical activity and exercise program are one of the most important part of rehabilitation, which help the patients to achieve better health outcomes and lifestyle.
• Stroke
Nowadays, stroke has become one of the major causes of death and lifelong disability in adults
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Regular exercise program is known to be beneficial for people with SCI. Exercise program designed for SCI patients is somewhat similar to the program for stroke survivors. However, it should be noted that the concerns for each condition are different, so there must be focus on specific requirements for the individual. Stroke survivors’ disability depends on the area of the brain that is damaged, whereas the disability of individuals with SCI depends on the damage in their spine. Therefore, detailed assessment of the spinal lesion must be carried out before designing exercise program for a person with SCI (Jacobs & Nash, 2004). An exercise program that combines mobility activities, aerobic resistance, strength, coordination, recreation, and relaxation can improve their functionality and fitness (Durán, Lugo, Ramírez & Lic, 2001). The individual should have 3 sessions per week with the total of 120 minutes (Durán, Lugo, Ramírez & Lic, 2001). The duration of each session can be shorter at first and increased over time to avoid injury and overwhelming stress for the patients. Some very common modalities of exercise for this group include arm crank ergometry and swimming. This is because SCI often causes paralysis and weakness in the lower limbs, which makes sense to place more focus on the upper extremity exercise modes in order to achieve the desired fitness level (Nash,
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Show MoreSpinal cord injuries can range from minor, meaning the injured will recover, to very severe injuries that can cause significant damage to someone’s body and self-esteem. Approximately 12,000 people per year experience spinal cord injuries in the United States. 50% of all spinal cord injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30 and 80% of all spinal cord injuries happen to males. The most common accidents that cause spinal cord injuries are motor vehicle accidents followed by falls, violence and then sports. There are two major types of spinal cord injuries, complete spinal cord injury and incomplete spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries can also cause other complications including respiratory, bladder control, skin sensation, circulation problems, muscle tone, sexual health, pain, depression, scoliosis, UTI and spasticity. Complete spinal cord injuries occur when one loses complete feeling and sensation typically resulting in paralysis below the injury. Incomplete spinal cord injuries mean there is still some feeling and movement below the injury site. One can experience different types of incomplete spinal cord injuries including anterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome, brown-sequard syndrome, nerve cell injuries and spinal contusions. Currently there is no cure for spinal cord injuries. Causes of SCI:
Treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy is currently unavailable to correct this condition. But a person can take other steps to try to help comfort the situation they are in but there is no stopping it. Physical therapy is important because it can help work the muscle to prevent contraction of them. Breathing machines are an important to have because a lot of trouble falls under the breathing when the weakness of these muscles occurs.
Americans are faced with health complications such as stroke each and every day. Stroke, also called “brain attack” is the third leading cause of deaths in the United States, killing more women each year than breast cancer. According to World Health Organization, fifteen million people suffer from stroke worldwide each year and about 700,000 in the United States. Among the people, it can be inferred that there is a poor public awareness of stroke. There are also many myths about stroke and one of them states that stroke is not preventable. It is also said that strokes cannot be treated, can only strike the elderly and its recovery happens for a few months post-stroke. When in reality, about 80% of strokes are preventable, it requires critical emergency treatment, can happen to anyone of any age, and occurs in the brain. It is also imperative to know that its recovery can continue throughout life.
"Spine & Sports Rehabilitation." - Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Ric.org, 2014. Web. 08 May 2014.
Valent, Linda J.M. Et al. "Effects of Hand Cycle Training on Physical Capacity in Individuals With Tetraplegia: A Clinical Trial." Physical Therapy 89.10 (2009): 1051-060. Print.
After a stroke, patients are usually referred to physical therapy to begin the recovery process. There are many types of physiotherapy treatments for different types of strokes and injuries. The two kinds of strokes are ischemic stroke which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted by blood clots. The blood clots are caused when the arteries harden and a cluster forms which then limits blood and oxygen supply to the brain. The second kind of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when there is bleeding into or around the brain. If one of the two strokes were ever to occur, getting oxygen and blood to your brain immediately is very important because permanent tissue damage and death could even occur. Physical therapists help not only stroke patients but a large variety of people who have physical limitations. A new treatment approach that is being studied involves “treadmill training” with partial body weight support. In this approach a physical therapist patterns the movement of the involved or weak leg while the patient is supported in a sling type apparel while walking on a treadmill. This is a new technique that is showing good results. However, there are no long term studies as of yet. I believe that treadmill training is very beneficial to stroke patients because it helps them regain speed and strength in a short amount of time. Treadmill training is very costly, but increases your chances in walking by about three to four weeks faster than regular physical therapy.
People have created a hectic and busy world, that includes careers and daily activities that require physical activity. While attempting to attain the required physical conditioning, people often take chances with their personal health as they try to stretch their physical limits. Sometimes, people can surpass their current limits and form new boundaries; however, other times people are not so fortunate. These unfortunate times often lead to injury, including workplace accidents, sporting incidents, disease afflictions, as well as others; any or all of which could bring about the need of rehabilitation services. Many of these require physical therapy, which includes assisting injured or otherwise impaired patients as they recover to their pre-injury status or to recover as much as is physically possible. The field of physical therapy is a choice career for those who enjoy helping people recover from injury, and the following text will provide reason for choosing this profession.
Physical therapy has five sub-specialty practices: orthopedic, geriatric, neurological, cardiopulmonary and pediatric (“Welcome”). A geriatric physical therapist studies and focuses on the unique movement needs of older adults. These therapists usually give out treatments for conditions such as arthritis, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, joint replacement and balance disorders (“Welcome”). Geriatric physical therapy is used to help restore mobility, help with physical limitations and reduce pain for older adults. The second sub-specialty practice is neurological physical therapy, which obviously focuses on neurological conditions and impairments. Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and strokes are just a couple of the neurological conditions that licensed neurological physical therapists work with. There are not many ways to physically improve nerves, but these therapists try their best for their patients. They concentrate on teaching their patients to adapt to visual, balance, mobility, and muscle loss impairments for daily living (“Welcome”). The third sub-specialty practice is cardiopulmonary therapy. This physical therapy practice focuses on helping people who have suffered from cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions; it is also used to help increase endurance and improve functional independence. Pediatric physical therapy is
Imagine the inability to physically walk or do so pain free, or to sit, or do any type of daily routine without any sort of constant complications. Whether a person has been injured, born with a disability condition, or a disability occurred due to aging, there is a way to help treat many complications. Participating in a physical therapy rehabilitation program can help to heal an injury by proper, safe exercises to strengthen and prevent further injury or by teaching one to change their mechanics, which in turn will create a better way to manage daily routines safely and pro actively. Physical therapy can also help to prevent or decrease impairments such as the developmental affect of many genetic diseases, congenial disabilities or disabilities due to aging. Physical therapy is a rehabilitation program with the goal to assist in the recovery of surgeries and injuries, and to promote proper mechanics and motor functions; relieving pain and restoring and maintaining physical mobility, strength and a quality of life.
It goes without saying that everyone’s health is important and should be taken care carefully. Everyone has heard of strokes before but many people do not really know its meaning, types, and the number of individuals of that dies due to this issue. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), strokes kills an average of 130,000 people a year and it is one of the most common deaths that happen in the United States. An average of 800,000 of people die from cardiovascular disease and strokes and it is also a reason of long-term disability (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Strokes, which can also be called cerebrovascular accident or CVA happen when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or the blood vessel going towards the brain burst. Then part of the brain dies or become seriously injured because the brain cells do not receive oxygen and they eventually die. People’s lifestyle may also impact seriously on their health and increase the possibility of having a stroke. Some of the risk that can severely increase the cause of stroke would be high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cigarette smoking, as well as strokes that
Strokes are the most common cause of disability and leading cause of death in the United States. Estimates of the number of stroke survivors in the United States exceed 3 million, and nearly 150,000 Americans died from stroke in 1995. The frequency with which strokes occur and the devastating effects they can have on survivors and their families make provision of general information about prevention and management an essential element of public health education. Previous researchers have found that between 14% and 40% of adults cannot name a single risk factor associated with stroke. This is reason for concern among the medical community.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease. The Central Nervous System (CNS) is attacked by the immune system; creating lesions that interrupt the correct signaling of nerves, spinal cord, and brain (Frankel, & James, 2011). Inhibiting development of this disease is crucial for maintaining quality of life and fatigue for individuals with MS. There has been vast amount of research on the effect of various exercise training programs, and their benefits for MS (Motl, & Gosney, 2008, Krupp, 2003, Chen, Fan, Hu, Yang, & Li, 2013). Balance, aerobic, and strength training have been the main focus of most researchers; causing an interest in what training mode is most effective for improving quality of life and lower fatigue. It is critical to examine and contrast the effectiveness of a variety of exercise programs, because if training is completed effectively it can drastically improve quality of life and fatigue for individuals with MS.
A stroke is a serious, life-threatening medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to part of
The spinal cord is a major channel in the body where motor and sensory information travels from the brain to the body. It has white matter that surrounds a central gray matter. The gray matter is where most of the neuronal cells are located. Injury to the spinal cord will affect the conduction of information across any part of the spinal cord where the damage is located (Maynard et al., 1997). This will often result in permanent disability of a certain muscle or region of the body (Meletis et al., 2008) and a loss of tissue where the damage is located (Peng et al., 2009). As of now, there is no treatment for spinal cord injury expect for steroids. All steroids can do is provide protect of the spinal cord from secondary injury for specific patients (Peng et al., 2009).
Taylor, F.C. and K. Suresh Kumar, Stroke in India Factsheet. South Asia Network for Chronic Disease, IIPH Hyderabad, Public Health Foundation of India.