Hemiparesis is a term that describes the blockage of blood flow in one-half of the brain, resulting in partial or full paralysis of one or both upper and lower extremities as a result of a stroke or neurological illness. Hemiparesis can be caused by a stroke, a fall-related injury, or weak nerves after an attack. The severity of the nerve injury will determine the symptoms. If you have Hemiparesis, your left arm and leg may be difficult to use. Though this disorder can strike anyone at any age, it is most common in people who have had a stroke. The following are three signs that indicate Hemiparesis.
1. One-Sided Body Weakness
If you have complete Hemiparesis, your arm and leg may be completely paralyzed. Partial Hemiparesis, however, indicates that only certain muscles on one side of your body are affected. You may experience weakness in the muscles of your face when you have Hemiparesis. In a case of facial paralysis, there will be drooping or sagging on the face because of nerve injury to the facial muscles. Usually, it will only be a cold shoulder or shoulder shrug. In addition, weakness on one side of body may lead to balance issues. When there is a problem in your brain or brainstem, the information in your body to maintain balance can be affected.
Moreover, you may experience difficulty lifting an object with the affected arm. Therefore, if you have a stroke on the left side of the brain and your balance is affected, you may be predisposed to falling. It’s not just a nagging headache; it’s a more serious dysfunction that affects everything from your ability to use your arms, hands, legs, or eyes well on one side of the body to how well you can speak or write similar to someone who has just had a stroke.
2. Cognitive Impairment
When you have trouble remembering things, concentrating, learning new things, or making important decisions in your daily lives, you have cognitive impairment. The severity of cognitive impairment varies. People who have moderate cognitive impairment may perceive changes in their cognitive skills but continue to operate normally. The ability of your brain to process information is impaired when you have Hemiparesis. You may find it difficult to complete tasks such as reading, writing, and remembering information. Because the information needed to locate your right hand is not reaching your brain due to a stroke, you may forget where it is.
Hemiparesis can also disrupt many elements of your everyday life when it affects the lower half of your body, such as bladder and bowel functions, due to cognitive impairment. You may have toilet accidents because of your inability to control your bladder or bowel processes. You may also find it tough to walk into the restroom and clean up after yourself.
3. The Inability to Speak Clearly
Hemiparesis causes serious disturbances in speech because of the effect of brain damage on the muscles responsible for controlling your mouth. When you have Hemiparesis, you cannot control the muscles involved in speech and will struggle to say words clearly. You may sometimes have problems with articulation or using the right words to communicate. Since the left side of the brain also controls your ability to produce language and read, you may have difficulty reading or understanding what you hear. Moreover, Hemiparesis can cause contracture, especially when there is a lot of weakness, and contracture is most frequent in the wrist and ankle. Resting hand splints and strong ankle-foot orthoses might be employed to keep the limb in a neutral position.
If you notice any of the additional signs of Hemiparesis, such as difficulty speaking or understanding language, unsteady walking, weakness on one side of the body that does not improve with rest or medicine, poor balance and coordination, memory loss, personality changes, or problems with movement in other parts of the body, you should seek medical attention. Working with a medical team to manage your health and lifestyle is critical. Physical and occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, dietitians, and speech-language pathologists may be on your team. Hemiparesis can be successfully managed by stopping disease development or utilizing drugs to alleviate symptoms.
Author name- Steffy Alen
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