Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move a part of the body, usually brought on by damage to either the muscles or to the nervous system. The condition can vary in severity and degree from paralysis of one small muscle to paralysis of almost the entire body.
Irreversible and permanent paralysis results when a nerve is completely severed and destroyed, whereas paralysis caused by some diseases that cause inflammation without actual destruction of nerve tissue may diminish as the condition is treated and the body recuperates.
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Causes of Paralysis
There are numerous causes. Brain damage resulting from disease or a stroke can lead to partial or total paralysis of various parts of the body. Such damage interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain to the muscles.Certain other diseases (for example, poliomyelitis, a viral infection of the central nervous system, and myasthenia gravis, a severe muscular disorder of the neurochemical transmission system) and poisons (such as nerve gas and the toxin that causes botulism) also prevent nerve impulses from making contact with muscles, but do not necessarily cause complete loss of movement.
Damage to the spinal cord at the level of the middle or lower back can cause paralysis of the legs and the structures in the lower part of the body, including the bladder and rectum; this condition is called paraplegia. Injury to the spinal cord at the level of the neck affects both arms and both legs; this is known as quadriplegia.
Diabetes, cancer, alcoholism, vitamin deficiency, and drug reactions, among other conditions, can injure peripheral nerves (those outside the brain and spinal cord), occasionally weakening or totally immobilizing the muscles they control, as well as causing loss of sensation in the areas they serve.
Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move a part of the body, usually brought on by damage to either the muscles or to the nervous system.
Treatment
Well-being and survival depend on the cause and extent of the paralysis. Obviously, paralysis that affects the muscles involved in breathing is life-threatening, and the job of breathing must be taken over by machines until it improves or disappears.
Patients whose paralysis does not require artificial measures for survival may benefit from physical or occupational therapy. These patients can learn to reuse a muscle or to develop other muscles to compensate for a disabled muscle. All patients with disabled muscles require special attention to prevent muscle atrophy (withering away) and ulcers (pressure sores or bed sores).