Strokes and Stroke RehabilitationWritten by Dr. Michael L. Johnson
Strokes affect millions of people every year and can be deadly. Some occur suddenly; some have pre-stroke warning signs. TIA’s, or transient ischemic attacks, may or may not happen prior to a stroke. During a TIA, a blood vessels going to head or neck becomes partially occluded, and this decreases oxygen available to brain. During a TIA, a patient usually experiences symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, double vision or even a loss of consciousness. There are two types of strokes. The first is ischemic. Ischemia occurs when blood vessel becomes blocked and brain doesn’t have enough oxygen to work properly. The blockage occurs from something occluding vessel, and then blood supply is shut off. Therefore, brain activity will be inhibited because fuel supply is not adequate. The second type of stroke is hemorrhagic. A hemorrhagic stroke is more severe than an ischemic stroke. With this type of stroke, blood vessel actually bursts, causing bleeding within skull. More damage occurs with this type of stroke. People that have undergone a stroke have very similar characteristics. Usually, one side of body does not work as well at other side. For example, right side may appear stiffer as compared to other side. This stiffness or inability to move directly relates to brain function. If right side of body is rigid, this can be traced back to left side of brain. Short or long term memory may be impaired.
| | Shoulder, Arm, and Hand PainWritten by Dr. Michael L. Johnson
Problems with neck, shoulder and arm are often called different things by patients: neuritis; bursitis; neuralgia; rheumatism; frozen shoulder; fibrositis; sprained, strained or sore muscles, or “poor circulation.” Some people may blame their shoulder (or other joint) problems on “old age” even though their other shoulder, which doesn’t have any problems, is just as old. The brain “talks” with rest of your body through a vast telecommunications system made up of nerves. Nerves come out of your brain in a large bundle called spinal cord and travel down your back inside spinal column. As nerves from your brain travel down your spinal cord, they first have to pass through holes (foramina) between spinal bones (vertebrae). Some nerves go straight to their point of destination, but some first mix with other nerves to form complicated nerve networks that anatomists call a nerve plexus. The brachial plexus is made up of nerves which come out of middle and lower neck and upper back. After they interconnect to form brachial plexus, they branch off to supply different areas, especially shoulder, arms, elbows, wrists, hands, and fingers. The most common form of brachial
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