What is Hemiplegia

What Is Hemiplegia?

Hemiplegia is a condition caused by brain damage or spinal cord injury that leads to paralysis on one side of the body (Eyvazzadeh, 2020). It causes weakness, problems with muscle control, and muscle stiffness. The degree of hemiplegia symptoms vary depending on the location and extent of the injury.

What Are Hemiplegia Symptoms?

Hemiplegia can affect either the left or right side of your body. There are many causes of this condition. People can have different symptoms from hemiplegia depending on its severity (Eyvazzadeh, 2020):

Muscle weakness or stiffness on one side

Muscle spasticity 

Poor fine motor skills

Trouble walking

Poor balance

Trouble grabbing objects

What Causes Hemiplegia?

The brain is divided into two hemispheres, separated by a bundle of fibers called the corpus callosum. Generally speaking, the right side of the brain controls muscles and other functions on the left side of the body, while the left side of the brain controls much of the right side of the body. Thus hemiplegia often indicates a problem with one side of the brain (Spinalcord.com Team, 2020).

Strokes

Brain Trauma

Brain and Nervous System Infections

Brain Lesions

Genetic Disorders

Congenital Diseases

Brain and Nervous System Infections

Brain Tumors

Cardiovascular Problems

Psychological Conditions

Adverse Reactions to  Medicine

Loss of Oxygen to the Brain

What Is Hemiplegic Migraine?

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare form of migraine where people experience weakness on one side of their body (hemiplegia) along with headache and other symptoms that are often the same as seen in migraine. The weakness is a form of migraine aura and occurs with other typical migraine aura signs like changes in vision, speech or sensation. There are two types of hemiplegic migraine: Familial hemiplegic migraine which runs in the family and sporadic hemiplegic migraine which occurs only in one person with no family history (American Migraine Foundation, 2022).

Symptoms of Hemiplegic Migraine

Primary symptoms include
  • Weakness on one side of the body
  • Headache
  • Other typical aura symptoms, such as vision changes, numbness, tingling and trouble speaking
A person may also experience
  • Fever
  • Changes in consciousness, from confusion to profound coma
  • Problems with coordination
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Increased sensitivity to sound and light

How rare is Hemiplegic Migraine?

0 M
Affected People by Migraine Worldwide
0 K
Affected by Hemiplegic Migraine
0 %
More Chances in Women than Men
12 y
Average Age of Onset

Sources:

Eyvazzadeh, A., 2020. Hemiplegia Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Impact on Day-to-Day Life. [online] Healthline. Available at: <https://www.healthline.com/health/hemiplegia>

American Migraine Foundation. 2022. Hemiplegic Migraine: Symptoms & Treatments | AMF. [online] Available at: <https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/hemiplegic-migraine/>

Spinalcord.com. 2020. Living with Hemiplegia and Hemiparesis: Causes, Treatment + Coping. [online] Available at: <https://www.spinalcord.com/hemiplegia>

hemihelp (2015) WHAT IS HEMIPLEGIA? An animated film. October 6, 2015. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvzannP7fw>

Kumar, A., Samanta, D., Emmady, P. and Arora, R., 2022. Hemiplegic Migraine. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513302/#:~:text=A%20migraine%20is%20a%20common,familial%20hemiplegic%20migraine%20is%200.003%25.>

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