Neurological Conditions and Interventions
Strengthening
NICE guidance on strength training 1.13.4 Consider strength training for people with muscle weakness after stroke. This could include progressive strength building through increasing repetitions of body weight activities (for example, sit-to-stand repetitions), weights (for example, progressive resistance exercise), or resistance exercise on machines such as stationary cycles. [2013]
Repetition
NICE Guidance for Adults with Stroke:
Offer people after stroke repetitive task training on a range of activities for upper limb weakness (such as tasks that involve reaching, grasping, pointing, moving and manipulating objects) and lower limb weakness (such as sit-to-stand transfers, walking and using stairs).
There is evidence that repetitions strengthens connections between Neurons in the brain and forms new connections leading to learning, hence to learn new tasks, one needs repetitions.
Balance training
Special exercises (sometimes called 'strength and balance training') can help to build up muscle strength and improve balance. These can make a person steadier on their feet and less likely to fall. They can be particularly helpful for older people who have already had one or more falls, or who have problems with balance or walking. If you are offered these exercises, they should be designed especially for you. A suitably trained healthcare professional should get you started with the exercises and check how you are getting on with them.
common neurological conditions
What are they and how do the present in adults
This stands for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. It is a common cause of dizziness in the adults above 60 and those with traumatic brain injury. Approximately 40% to 56% of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients have BPPV (Banerjee et al 2021, Lui et al 2017)
We are all aware of PD – Parkinsons disease. In some adults a wider spectrum of Disorders of the brain such as Progressive supra nuclear palsy, Cortico Basal degeneration, idiopathic hydrocephalus etc are losely termed as Parkinsons plus syndrome.
The brain is capable of exerting control on how much electrical activity reaches the muscle for it to contract and relax (depending on the task). When this control is lost in conditions such as stroke it is termed as spasticity. This is usually seen in a group of muscles. When spasticity is severe it can lead to deformed limbs.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a condition more common in women than in men and considered prevelant in colder parts of the globe. This is an auto immune disorder where the immune system attacks the covering of the axons in the brain leading to delay in conduction between different parts of the brain and spinal cord.
FND stands for functional neurological disorder. This is when the software of the brain stop functioning in particular tasks or in certain parts of the body. There is no physical damage identifiable on investigations, making the diagnosis tricky.