Conditions:

  • Stroke
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Brain Injury
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
  • Multiple Systems Atrophy
  • Huntington’s Disease
  • Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis
  • Gullian- Barre Syndrome
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Transverse Myelitis
  • Motor Neuron Disease

Stroke : A stroke occurs when blood supply in the brain is blocked, resulting in a lack of oxygen to brain cells. These brain cells can die causing problems such as arm/leg weakness, speech difficulties and cognitive issues.

There are 3 types of stroke

  • Ischaemic stroke due to a blood clot and is the most common type
  • Haemorrhagic stroke due to bleeding within the brain
  • Transient Ischaemic attack (TIA) also known as a mini stroke, symptoms only last for a short period as the blockage is only temporary. A TIA should be taken seriously as this is often called a warning stroke.

Multiple Sclerosis :

MS is a condition that affects the nerves within the Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord). Sclerosis refers to scarring and multiple refers to fact it can occur in more than one place.

MS is considered an autoimmune condition whereby the immune system attacks the central nervous system. The immune system targets the myelin which covers the nerves. Damage can result in reduced ability for the messages to travel successfully along the nerve.

After an attack the body is able to repair itself to a certain extent and the brain can reroute messages.

Symptoms experienced by the individual will depend on the location of the damage.

Parkinson’s Disease : PD is a movement disorder, the primary motor symptoms experienced are slowness of movement, stiffness, tremor and balance problems. These symptoms are as a result of reduced dopamine in the deep part of the brain called the basal ganglia. The cause of PD still remains unknown.

Traumatic Brain Injury : Brain injury can occur when someone experiences a trauma to the head, this could be due to an assault, fall or accident. Effects of the brain injury will depend on the location, type and severity of the injury. People can experience a wide range of symptoms, such as balance problems, dizziness, memory difficulties and anger.

Spinal Cord Injury : The spinal cord carries messages from your brain to the rest of your body. When spinal cord damage occurs, this can cause complete or incomplete disruption of the messages resulting in paralysis and loss of sensation. The extent of the symptoms depends on the level of injury and amount of damage to the spinal cord. Damage to the spinal cord can be due to injury, infection or disease.

Cerebral palsy : Cerebral palsy is considered a lifelong condition and is due to damage of the brain that occurs before, during or soon after birth. Symptoms will depend on the extent of damage to the brain. Often people will experience movement and coordination problems

Progressive Supranuclear palsy : PSP is considered a movement disorder and initially often mimics Parkinson’s disease which can result in a delayed diagnosis. A protein called tau builds up in certain areas of the brain resulting in clumps which are thought to damage nerve cells. PSP is a neurodegenerative condition and people can experience problems with balance, falls, movement and speech.

Multiple Systems Atrophy : MSA is a result of degeneration of nerve cells in several areas of the brain. This can result in balance, movement and autonomic problems (blood pressure and bladder problems).

Huntington’s Disease : HD is an inherited condition. Every child conceived naturally to a parent who carries the Huntington’s gene will have a 50% chance of inheriting it. HD is a movement disorder. HD can cause problems with balance, movement, learning, thinking and emotions.

Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis : HSP is an inherited degenerative neurological disorder. Upper Motor neurons degenerate resulting in progressive weakness and spasticity in the lower limbs. This leads to difficulty walking. The lower body is most commonly affected.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome : GBS is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy affecting peripheral nerves, the nerves become inflamed and loose their myelin sheath. This results in weakness and loss of sensation. GBS is considered an autoimmune condition. Full recovery can occur, but some people will experience residual problems if the actual nerve axon has been damaged.

Muscular Dystrophy : Muscular Dystrophy is a group of inherited muscle wasting conditions which get worse over time. Symptoms vary amongst the different types of muscular dystrophy. Muscle wasting conditions will cause problems with weakness, movement and balance.

Transverse myelitis : TM is caused by inflammation over a section of the spinal cord. This inflammation blocks messages transmitted through the spinal cord and can damage nerve fibres resulting in loss of sensory and/or motor function. The main symptoms of transverse myelitis are muscle weakness and abnormal sensation.

Motor Neuron Disease : MND affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, this results in reduced messages reaching the muscles which causes muscle weakness/wasting and stiffness. MND can result in problems with walking, talking, eating and breathing. Symptoms progress at varying speeds, but generally MND is life limiting.

This is not an exhaustive list of conditions that we treat. Please don’t hesitate to contact to discuss further.