Hemiparesis is a disorder that impairs movement. This disorder refers to one-sided weakness. This disorder occurs in about 80% of people who have suffered a stroke. Hemiparesis causes weakness and possibly the complete inability to move one side of the body. Weakness can impact all of the limbs on the affected side of the body. Although hemiparesis is found very common in stroke patients, this is not the only cause. Some other conditions that may be related to hemiparesis are Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Head Trauma, and Migraines. Most of these conditions are correlated with the brain and or spinal cord.
If the weakness occurs on the right side it reflects injury to the left side of the brain. This side of the brain controls speech and language. When people are affected on the right side of their brain they have a hard time speaking, talking, and understanding when others are talking to them. These people also have trouble telling the difference between left and right. When given the command they may not respond at all to the inability to process the command.
When the left side is affected it reflects injury to the right side of the brain which affects learning, behavior, and non-verbal communication. Some behavioral symptoms a subject may have are excessive talking, short attention span or little to no short-term memory.
Treatment for hemiparesis involves a lot of physical therapy. In some instances sensation and movement are worked on and in others, the physical therapist mostly helps with helping the subject learn how to alter everyday activities for the inability of move. The physical therapist will help with awareness of the limbs and range of motion. The subject stay must be motivated and involved during physical therapy. This also falls on the therapist’s shoulder to help encourage and boost improvements. Active participation from the subject is crucial.
My son was diagnosed with hemiparesis at five months old. Upon being diagnosed, he was sent for an MRI. The results came back that he had a cyst on his brain. It is still inconclusive whether or not the cyst is correlated with the hemiparesis that he has. In his case, he was just put into physical therapy and attended once a week. He has now graduated and no longer shows any signs of his hemiparesis. The doctors said that there could have been multiple causes for his condition. Some of them are, that he was in the birth canal too long or he had an unknown head injury during birth. As I said before the actual reason is still unknown.
Hemiparesis can be a very trying disorder but not impossible to overcome. It is tough for people diagnosed with this especially adults after having a stroke. It can cause trouble speaking, moving, and over-interacting with everyday life. With hard work and diligence, it can be overcome. I had the opportunity to see this diligence and hard work firsthand with my son.
