WHAT IS NEUROLOGICAL PHYSIOTHERAPY?
Treatment for patients with movement and function difficulties resulting from issues with the nerve and neuromuscular systems of the body is known as neurological physiotherapy. These disorders frequently present as muscle weakness, uncontrollable muscle spasm, poor balance and coordination, tremors, loss of function, and diminished sensation. Through repeating movements and exercises, neurological physical therapy is possible to reactivate message routes that your brain is having trouble using and create new pathways.Many patients who receive neurological physical therapy have relief from symptoms like pain, stiffness, walking difficulty, loss of hand, arm, or leg function, and balance problems. It is a procedure where the disabled person is directly involved in creating significant and pertinent goals for their own unique situation.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Neurorehabilitation provides a range of therapies including medication, physical therapy, speech and swallowing therapy, psychological therapies, occupational therapies, teaching or retraining patients on mobility skills, communication processes, and other elements of that person’s daily routine. By focusing on all aspects of a person’s functional independence and well-being. Focus is also placed on the nutritional, psychological, and artistic aspects of a person’s recovery through neurorehabilitation.For the most comprehensive care for patients, many neuro-rehabilitation programmes, whether provided by hospitals or at private, specialized clinics, contain a wide array of specialists in many different professions. Over time, and frequently throughout a person’s lifetime, these treatments enable the patient and their family to have the most normal, independent lives possible.
WHAT ARE THE COMMON CONDITIONS TREATED IN NEUROLOGICAL PHYSIOTHERAPY?
The way that each of the ailments treated with neurological physiotherapy affects the nerve system varies. The diagnoses’ impairments, though, are comparable. Patients with poor balance and coordination, gait problems, visual alterations, and those who are unable to walk but have trouble with daily activities are advised to undergo neurological physiotherapy, according to doctors.
Microcephaly
An infant with microcephaly, a neurological ailment that can happen in the womb or after birth but is caused by abnormal brain growth, will have a smaller head than children of the same age and gender. It may develop later in infancy or be congenital (existing from birth). It frequently results in neurological issues and learning impairments.
Post-polio syndrome
A collection of latent poliomyelitis (polio) symptoms known as (PPS, poliomyelitis sequelae) occur at a rate of about 25 to 40 percent (latest data greater than 80%). After the initial infection, it is a viral infection of the nerve system. 15 to 30 years after the original severe paralytic attack, symptoms usually start to appear. Acute weakness or decreased muscle function, along with discomfort and weariness, are symptoms. Many years after non-paralytic polio (NPP) infection, the same symptoms may still manifest.
Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS): is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. The initial symptoms are typically changes in sensation or pain often in the back along with muscle weakness, beginning in the feet and hands, often spreading to the arms and upper body, with both sides being involved.
Stroke:During a stroke, blood flow to the brain is reduced, which results in the death of brain cells. A part of the brain that is injured starts to show symptoms.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): brain dysfunction brought on by a head injury such as a bump, blow, or rapid jolt.
Parkinson’s disease: a condition that affects the brain’s dopamine neurons principally. The illness has an impact on cognition, sleep, and movement.
Alzheimer’s disease:a condition that affects neurons and results in the decline of brain tissue. Dementia, which is a reduction in memory, reasoning, and behavioral abilities, is caused by the death of brain cells.
Spinal Cord Injuries:An intricate network of nerves is linked to the brain by the spine. Force applied to the spinal column’s vertebrae, ligaments, or discs causes spinal cord injuries, which prevent neurons from interacting with the body. A spinal cord injury causes loss of function below the injured area. They may get weak, lose their strength and sensation, have trouble breathing, and lose control over their bowels or bladder.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS):In MS, the central nervous system’s nerves are harmed by the body’s immune system. Myelin is degraded by the immune system (the protective covering of the nerves). Depending on which nerves are damaged, the symptoms change.
Cerebral Palsy: a childhood condition marked by motor impairment (i.e., the capacity to move and preserve balance and posture). Because of faulty brain development, people with cerebral palsy are unable to regulate their muscles.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT):CMT is an inherited nervous system illness that damages peripheral nerves, leading to a progressive loss of muscle tissue. It is also known as motor and sensory neuropathy of inheritance.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS):a motor neuron illness that is neurodegenerative. Loss of voluntary movement results from motor neuron death.
Chronic Pain:Chronic pain problems and back pain can be the primary or subsequent symptoms of other neurological diseases. Patients start neurological physiotherapy for their chronic pain for a variety of reasons, but one of the main ones is the impact on quality of life.
WHO WILL BENEFIT?
Physical therapy for neurological rehabilitation uses therapeutic exercises and activities to stimulate the nervous system while assisting you in learning new movement patterns. Your disease or injury will be addressed in a specific treatment plan that emphasizes strengthening, mobility, balance, and overall coordination while also addressing cardiovascular function. Physiotherapists assist you in maximizing functionality given your existing situation and offer guidance on how to adapt your living and working environment to enable safe, effective, and independent living.
Benefits may include:
Increased strength: Muscles that have been weakened by your ailment or injury are strengthened through muscular movement training. Physiotherapists may concentrate on improving range of motion and muscular control as well as controlling or reducing spasticity (when muscles continuously contract).
Prolonged endurance:You can learn quick and practical walking techniques that work for a variety of tasks with the aid of gait training or retraining. Mobility aids may occasionally be used to improve balance, posture, and ease of movement. Teaching patients how to use these tools properly may be part of physiotherapy therapies.
Better balance:Your steadiness and confidence when walking and engaging in daily activities will increase as a result of balance training. Falling and associated injuries are less likely to happen when balance is improved.
