Paralysis: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment

Paralysis is the loss of muscle function in one or more part of the body. It can be localized or generalized, temporary or permanent and partial or complete. It can affect any part of your body at any time in your lifetime. Approximately about 1 in 50 Americans, or 5.4 million people, have some various form of paralysis.

Symptoms of paralysis

This condition feels like you are unable to move part of your body the way you use to, no matter how many times or harder you try. It is an alarming symptom that’s hard to ignore. It may involve an arm or a leg, or it may involve the hand, foot, or face. And can even be every part of your body.

Common symptoms may include:

• Loss of sensation of the weak part of the body
• Numbness or tingling of the weak part of the body
• Floppiness of the weak area of the body

Paralytic condition is not usually associated with pain, jerking, or tremors. Over weeks or months, painful spasticity, abnormal muscle tightness, can develop in the paralyzed limb.

Types of paralysis

Some people experience temporary paralysis and regain partial or full movement over some time. For example, Bell’s palsy temporarily paralyzes the facial muscles. Palsy is the name for paralysis accompanied by tremors. Permanent paralysis simply means you never regain muscle control. This condition is irreversible.

It is classified into the following, which include:

• Partial (paresis): You can control some muscles, but not all.
• Complete: You have no control over any muscles.
• Flaccid: Your muscles get flabby and shrink.
• Spastic: The muscles tighten, causing uncontrollable jerks and spasms (spasticity).

Partial or complete, this can affect any part of your body. While flaccid or spastic are based on the site of injury in the nervous system.

You can also read about symptoms and type of syncope (fainting).

Location and group of muscle paralysis

Localized paralysis. This affects only one part of your body, such as the face or hand.

Generalized paralysis. This is a group of conditions that affect your body multiple parts. This include:

• monoplegia. This affects only one arm or leg
• Diplegia. This occurs on the same area on both sides of the body. For example, paralysis affects both arms, both legs or both sides of the face.
• hemiplegia. This affects one arm and one leg on the same side of your body
• paraplegia. This affects both of your legs
• quadriplegia or tetraplegia. This affects both of your arms and both of your legs

Causes of paralysis

Generally, paralysis of the face or the whole arm or leg will only involve one side of the body, and this is usually caused by a health condition or complication affecting the brain or spinal cord. Often, that of the foot or hand may involve both sides of the body, and it’s usually caused by a health condition affecting the nerve, like peripheral neuropathy.

The following are many different conditions and health problems that can causes or lead to it, which include:

• Traumatic injury of the brain or spinal cord
• Stroke: An interruption of blood flow in an artery in the brain can affect areas of the brain that control motor movement. Heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and uncontrolled diabetes are common risk factors.
• Multiple sclerosis: This inflammatory condition causes recurrent episodes of weakness, coordination changes, and more due to demyelination (damage to the protective sheath of nerve fibers) in the brain and spinal cord.
• Guillain-Barre syndrome: This disease causes weakness due to inflammatory demyelination of the peripheral motor nerves, usually starting in the legs and moving up the body.
• Herniated spinal disk: This occurs when a cartilage disk in the spinal column moves out of place, usually due to degenerative disease or trauma.
• Brain tumor or spinal cord tumor
• Peripheral neuropathy: Many disorders can cause diminished function of the peripheral nerves that control movement, including uncontrolled diabetes, chronic alcohol use, and vitamin B12 deficiency.
• Severe infection or inflammation of the brain or spinal cord
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): This rare disease causes degeneration of a specific part of the spine. It generally affects people over age 50 and progresses within a few years.
• Post-seizure paralysis: After a seizure, some people experience paralysis of one limb on one side of the body, lasting from minutes up to a few hours.
• Hereditary issues like spinal muscular atrophy: This condition is caused by a genetic defect that impairs the production of a protein that is necessary for a healthy spine.

The above issues may cause temporary or permanent paralysis, but getting prompt treatment on time can lessen the long-term severity of the the condition and symptoms.

Generally medications don’t usually cause paralytic condition as a side effect. Whereas there are some medications used for surgical anesthesia, that are muscle paralytics which temporarily paralyze the muscles during surgery. The paralytic effects are temporary, and strength will return to normal once the medication is stopped.

You can also read about causes and classification of sciatica (nerve pain).

Prevention of paralysis

Spinal cord injuries are the leading cause of paralysis. You can lower your chances of spinal injury by taking some of the following steps:

• Don’t drink and drive. Don’t drive while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. Don’t ride with a driver who’s been drinking.
• Drive safely. Car crashes are one of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries. Wear a seat belt every time you’re in a moving vehicle.Make sure that your children wear a seat belt or use an age- and weight-appropriate child safety seat. To protect them from air bag injuries, children under age 12 should always ride in the back seat.
• Prevent falls. Use a step stool with a grab bar to reach high-up objects. Add handrails along stairways. Put nonslip mats on tile floors and in the tub or shower. For young children, use safety gates to block stairs and consider installing window guards.
• Check water depth before diving. Don’t dive into a pool unless it’s 12 feet (about 3.7 meters) or deeper, don’t dive into an aboveground pool and don’t dive into water if you don’t know how deep it is.
• Take precautions when playing sports.Always wear recommended safety gear. Avoid leading with your head in sports. For example, don’t slide headfirst in baseball, and don’t tackle using the top of your helmet in football. Use a spotter for new moves in gymnastics.

Complications of paralysis

Paralytic condition can affect many bodily functions like breathing and heart rate. This condition can also involve other body systems in the affected area. Depending on the type, you may experience the following:

• Speech or swallowing problems (dysphagia).
• Pressure injuries (bedsores) and sepsis.
• Difficulty breathing, coughing and risk for pneumonia.
• Blood clots and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
• Depression and anxiety.
• Erectile dysfunction and sexual problems.
• Excessively high blood pressure (autonomic dysreflexia) or low blood pressure (orthostatic hypotension) and heart problems.
• Urinary incontinence and loss of bowel control.

You can also read about prevention and complications of stroke.

Diagnosis of paralysis

If you’ve experienced paralytic condition, you will need a thorough medical diagnosis and evaluation. Which will include a comprehensive neurological examination, which involves steps such as checking reflexes, strength testing, sensory examination of your body.

The following are some of the tests required for the diagnosis of paralysis, these include:

• Imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scan or MRI. This check for signs of stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury. A whole-body imaging scan shows bones, muscles and tissues.
• Myelogram. This checks for spinal cord and nerve injuries.
• Electromyogram (EMG). This tests the electrical activity of nerves and muscles.
• Spinal tap (lumbar puncture). This tests spinal fluid for infection, inflammation and disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS).

The results of the above tests can help evaluate and determine the the kind of condition causing your paralysis.

Treatment of paralysis

No cure for permanent paralytic condition. The spinal cord can’t heal itself. Those with temporary paralysis like Bell’s palsy often goes away over time with or without treatment.

Physical, speech and occupational therapy can accommodate paralysis and provide exercises, adaptive and assistive devices to improve function. These management and rehabilitation services can help people with all types of paralysis.

Paralytic condition can be treated with several medical interventions. The following are the short-term treatment, that involves treating the cause, which include:

• Repair of a traumatic spine injury
• Medication to treat blood clots during an acute stroke (loss of blood flow and oxygen to the brain)
• Disease-modifying therapy for prevention of multiple sclerosis exacerbations (when symptoms worsen) and immune suppression for treatment of acute multiple sclerosis exacerbations
• Medical procedure such as removal of a tumor, hematoma (collection of blood), or infectious abscess (a pocket of pus) that’s causing paralysis

Your physician will recommend assistive and supportive devices and equipment such as:

• Assistive equipment, such as wheelchairs, scooters, crutches and canes.
• Adaptive equipment that allows you to feed yourself or drive.
• Voice-activated technology for computers, lighting systems and phones.
• Orthotic/prosthetic devices, such as braces.

Rehabilitation with time, many people with paralytic condition will learn to adapt with the condition. People lead independent active lives with it, and People with quadriplegia need lifelong help from others, but their minds can stay absolutely active.

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