Neurological Challenges: How Physiotherapy Can Aid in Recovery
Physiotherapy is used to treat an illness, injury, or deformity and aims at helping the patient to reestablish motor functions like movement, balance, and coordination. It ensures that the joint’s flexibility and active muscles. Neurological conditions are problems concerned with the spinal cord, brain, or peripheral nerves. People with these conditions find it difficult to move around, have muscle weakness, limited movement range, vision changes, and poor balance.
What is Neurological Physiotherapy?
Neurological physiotherapy is a specialized branch of physiotherapy that aims to improve movement in patients whose impairment is caused due to neurological injury or illness affecting the functioning of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
The common conditions include multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, etc. that cause tremors, paralysis, spasms, and loss of sensation. If the central neuro system suffers damage, it can cause the different pathways that carry the nerve signals to different organs and muscles to break down leading to the mentioned symptoms.
Neurological physiotherapy helps to rehabilitate patients having physical problems caused by neurological conditions. It aims to maximize an individual’s physical potential in terms of flexibility and movement range and help children with disabilities reach development milestones.
Conditions Requiring Neurological Physiotherapy
Alzheimer's Disease
In this condition, brain cells degenerate leading to dementia. Alzheimer’s causes loss of memory, thinking, cognitive abilities, and behavioral skills.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body through the nervous system. When the spinal cord gets injured trauma to spinal discs, ligaments, or vertebrae hamper the communication of the nerves with the body. Often patients with spinal cord injuries experience loss of function below the injury site, poor bladder, weakness, lack of sensation, etc.
Stroke
Stroke restricts blood flow to the brain which causes cell death in the brain. Trouble speaking, paralysis, numbness, or trouble walking are typical symptoms of a stroke.
Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain condition caused by the loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine. It leads to movement issues like tremors, slow movement, difficulty speaking, and muscle stiffness.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)
This is a rare neurological disorder where the body’s immune system attacks peripheral nerves, leading to muscle weakness, numbness, and in severe cases paralysis.
Post-Polio Syndrome
PPS is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovering from the initial poliovirus infection. It is characterized by muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain. Physiotherapy aims to manage symptoms, improve muscle strength, and enhance overall function.
Microcephaly
Microcephaly is a condition where a baby’s head is significantly smaller than expected, often due to abnormal brain development. Physiotherapy for microcephaly focuses on supporting the child’s physical and motor development, addressing any movement challenges, and improving overall quality of life.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is persistent pain that lasts for weeks, months, or even years. Physiotherapy for chronic pain aims to reduce pain, improve function, and enhance quality of life through a combination of exercise, manual therapy, and education on pain management techniques.
Each of these conditions requires a tailored approach to physiotherapy to address the specific challenges and needs of the individual. Physiotherapists work closely with patients to develop personalized treatment plans aimed at improving their quality of life and functional independence.
Benefits of Neurological Physiotherapy
Neurological physiotherapy must be started as soon as it is possible after the injury or diagnosis. Most commonly muscles become weak and movement, flexibility, and range are affected. Weakness in muscles can also lead to loss of sensation, spasms, lack of balance, and difficulty in swallowing or speaking.
In physical therapy exercises and therapeutic activities are used to stimulate the nervous system, helping patients to learn new ways to use muscles and move.
Building Strength
For achieving muscle strength strengthening exercises are used to target the muscles impacted by the injury and are weak. Patients can improve muscle control and increase in range of movements. They may also be able to manage the continuous contraction of muscles.
Improved Stamina
Patients will be able to walk independently on different surfaces for different activities with different strategies and training. Mobility aids are mostly included to help individuals with posture, balance, and easy movement. Physiotherapy treatment often includes training patients with the right techniques to use mobility aids.
Improved Balance
Balance training helps in improving patient’s confidence and stability and helps them to walk and participate in routine activities. A person with good and improved balance will not fall and injure themselves.
Increasing Movement Range
Neurological physiotherapy helps to increase the range of motion in the affected joints affected by stroke or Parkinson’s. It helps to improve flexibility and make everyday movements easier.
Improves Breathing
Some neurological conditions affect breathing. Physiotherapy includes breathing exercises and techniques to improve lung function and breathing efficiency.
Lowers Anxiety And Stress Levels
Physiotherapy helps in reducing stress and anxiety experienced by individuals during neurological conditions. Therapy provides a positive environment which helps in improving mental well-being.
Pain Relief
Physiotherapists use various methods to help relieve pain associated with neurological disorders. This includes manual therapy, exercises, and education on pain management techniques.
Neurological physiotherapists specialize in treating conditions that affect the nervous system. They offer treatments that assist patients in keeping or regaining as much movement and independence as possible. They create new ways for the body to move by using exercise and repeating activities to reach these aims.
Neurological physiotherapists use different methods to help patients get the best results. They combine approaches like conductive education, functional rehab, the Bobath concept, and the Brunnstrom approach to improve movement.
The treatment approach depends on each patient’s needs and goals, helping the physiotherapist tailor the treatment for the best outcome. The focus is on improving coordination, movement, balance, strength, and heart health. These therapists also advise on adjusting home and work environments for a safer, more independent life.
