Showing posts with label ▷ 2014 Jan 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ▷ 2014 Jan 11. Show all posts
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Def'n: Dystonia and Stroke
See also:
Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be hereditary or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning (e.g., lead poisoning) or reaction to pharmaceutical drugs, particularly neuroleptics. Treatment is difficult and has been limited to minimizing the symptoms of the disorder, since there is no cure available.
Symptoms vary according to the kind of dystonia involved. In most cases, dystonia tends to lead to abnormal posturing, in particular on movement. Many sufferers have continuous pain, cramping, and relentless muscle spasms due to involuntary muscle movements. Other motor symptoms are possible including lip smacking.
- Jun/30/2012 | Paralysis and Spasticity From SSTattler
- Deep Brain Stimulation From Wikipedia
- Botulinum Toxin From Wikipedia
- Baclofen From Wikipedia
Dystonia From Wikipedia
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A person with medication
induced dystonia.
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Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms vary according to the kind of dystonia involved. In most cases, dystonia tends to lead to abnormal posturing, in particular on movement. Many sufferers have continuous pain, cramping, and relentless muscle spasms due to involuntary muscle movements. Other motor symptoms are possible including lip smacking.
Video: Dystonia and Stroke
Dystonia Documentary by Ryan Murphy
Uploaded on May 17, 2011Dystonia Documentary Dystonia Movement Disorder Cervical dystonia spasmodic torticollis Blepharospasm Oromandibular Spasmodic dysphonia Laryngeal Focal writer's cramp
Standard YouTube License @ dystonia2025
Saturday Comics
| For Better and For Worse Lynn Johnston - 2014/01/10  "Farley! Farley! I'm freezing...." | Dilbert Scott Adams - 2014/01/10  "It boost my oxytocin levels without..." |
Garfield Jim Davis - 2014/01/10  "Jon's listening to a recording!" | Betty Delainey & Rasmussen - 2014/01/10  "I've got plenty of the good habits..." |
** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com and Dilbert.com.
*** Changed from "Pickles" to "Betty" -- "Betty" is a excellent cartoon and Gary Delainey & Gerry Rasmussen are authors/artists/cartoon-strips and they live in Edmonton.
Eclectic Stuff
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Definition: Eclectic(noun) a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
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Spasticity Reduction in Dystonia and Stroke
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| Peter G. Levine Stronger After Stroke Blog |
SSTattler: Re-publish SSTattler from Saturday, December 21, 2013.
So, here's the deal. I'm a member of the FB young stroke survivors group. If you are not, I'd suggest you join. These folks do not pull punches and most are robustly and actively engaged in their recovery. (Many have the same posture as Dean of Deans' stroke musings. Put his blog in your faves. Now.) The group as a whole reminds me very much of many spinal cord injured people who I've worked with; no BS, been there done that, laid bare.
I'm also a member of the "Neuronauts" group on FB. This group has a pathology that causes a spastic pull on muscles called dystonia. The muscles that are affected can be pretty much anywhere and can jam body parts into themselves and into other body parts. I'm not generally Mr. Empathetic, but the Neuronauts will break your heart. Shocked, sad helpless is the way their stories sometimes make me feel. Stories of living with a complete and painful betrayal of their bodies. Short term excruciating pain and long term injuries often result.
Dystonia is caused by injury to the basal ganglia (which can be caused by stroke). The basal ganglia is a "gang" of structures deep in the brain. "The basal ganglia... monitors the speed of movement and controls unwanted movements"
Bob's First Botox Treatment
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| Diane The Pink House On The Corner |
On Tuesday, I wheeled Bob over to the new neuro doctor's office for his first Botox treatment for cervical dystonia. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs that day, but we were going--come hell or high water, because it had taken 3 months to get in to see this guy.
Before we left, I glanced through the "Botox for Cervical Dystonia" brochure that the neuro doctor had given us three months ago. I guess I just wanted to be informed. Unfortunately, it only ended up scaring the living daylights out of me. All those side effects, including "problems breathing which can be severe and result in loss of life". Jeepers...... For a few minutes, I actually considered cancelling that appointment. But then I reminded myself what Dr. Doom had said about Botox being "one of the safest drugs around" and coming from Dr. Doom, that really means something. So I sucked down my fears and we went.
We got there early. And the doctor was running late.
Can Magnetism Help Us Control the Brain, Remotely?
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| Dean Reinke Deans' Stroke Musing |
I like the comment about controlling a worm. And I personally think we should attach tPA to them and direct it directly to the clot. It would take a lot smaller amount and probably extend the timeframe a lot without the risk of bleeding.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-magnetism-brain-remotely.html
Scientists at the University at Buffalo have received $1.3 million from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to test how tiny, magnetic particles can be used to remotely control neurons in the brains of mice.
If the work is successful, the research team will have given neuroscientists a powerful, new tool: a non-invasive technique for triggering activity deep inside the brain.
A Question Of Trust
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| Gary Gray PEI Stroke Recovery |
The Question: As a stroke survivor, caregiver, family member or health care professional are you concerned about where to find trustworthy health and safety information?
Submitted resource:
When given the challenge of recovering from a stroke, it’s important not to become overwhelmed with the flurry of information, tips, and guides that follow. Survivors and caregivers must sort through these readings and find the most trustworthy sources, without a clear solution on where to go first. The American Recall Center aims to make that easier.
With a focus on making medical news easy to understand, The American Recall Center offers news and safety updates on important health topics. From dangerous prescription medications to steps to avoid a potential hip replacement, our site always has the patient’s best interest in mind.
By breaking down the FDA’s jargon-filled news and updates into straightforward terms and put them in plain-language, patients can go into a doctor’s visit with knowledge and confidence to know exactly what questions matter to ask.
Another helpful offering on the site is Patient Safety Alerts, a notification system that sends personalized updates on the medications that matter to you. Simply select the drug or medical device categories relevant to you, and when the FDA releases a safety update pertaining to that category we send an update to your email. Never worry about missing news that can affect your health and save time by signing up for Patient Safety Alerts.
See the original article:
in
CPSR Lecture: Strategies to Improve Physical Activity After Stroke
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| Sharon D. Anderson Stroke Survivors Tattler |
Many people are looking for exercises they can do at home to improve the functioning of their affected arm or leg. UBC professor Dr. Janice Eng speaks to the HSF Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery on her research (December 2013). In a lecture that I attended, Dr. Eng suggested that these home exercises can be as effective as constraint therapy for arm recovery.
The key with any exercise for stroke recovery is that it be intensive (do it at least once a day with as much repetition as you can) and that your brain is engaged in the task. As you do the exercises, think about the affected arm or leg moving, feel the muscles moving, and try to move it a little bit more/ a little bit further each time.
Standard YouTube License @ Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery
Fore Thought and Action After a Stroke
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| Jo Murphey The Murphey Saga |
I'm realizing that my previous post is boggling most of you readers minds. How am I am to do what I do after a stroke. It takes a lot of fore thought and trial and error.
Cracks on the Ends of My Fingers
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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
Winter is finally here and I have a crack in the skin at the end of the fourth finger on my sound hand. Every time the end of my finger contacts an object the crack opens painfully. I wash my hand so often I have no natural oil in my skin. In previous winters I have worn a rubber glove to bed after slathering my hand with many types of lotion. This only slows down the drying process.
I felt desperate when the end of my fourth finger cracked open because I knew my thumb was next. It develops an even bigger crack which is even more painful.
I Googled paraffin bath because warm wax softens the skin. On-line users said it takes 6 hours for the wax to melt. To prevent burns, the heating element is too weak to melt the wax quickly. This means leaving the unit on 24 hours a day to keep the wax liquid. I already run up my winter electric bill by turning on Christmas lights and using a warm air vaporizer 6 hours a night. Then there were users who said wax leaked out of the bottom of their unit. Since I live alone there is no "Honey do" at my house. Fortunately, one of my on-line searches for paraffin baths captured a hand cream that contains paraffin so I bought it.
Bath and Body Works makes a product called True Blue Super Softening Hand Lotion with paraffin. The sandpaper rough skin on the end of my thumb disappeared after one application.
It took 5 days for the crack on my fourth finger to close up after using one small dab the size of a pea each day. This is good because the lotion costs $12 for a 2.5 fluid ounce tube.
I let the lotion sink in after I go to bed at night. I put a dab of lotion on the back of my hemiplegic hand and get into bed with a small towel and the remote that turns off my ceiling light. I put the remote next to my sound thigh and cover it with the towel. After I transfer the lotion to my sound hand, I press on the remote through the towel to turn off the lights and lay my hand on the towel. This is so much easier than using my teeth to wrestle a rubber glove on and off my sound hand. My hemiplegic hand is an assistive hand, but I need all five fingers working on my sound hand.
See the original article:
in
Battle Strokes With Ultrasound?
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| Jeff Porter Stroke of Faith |
Lately, we've seen news about better stroke outcomes. But there's still so much room for improvement. Now, check out this future-looking article from Popular Mechanics about ultrasounds and the fight against stroke:
To date, the most effective treatment is the clot-dissolving thrombolysis drug tissue plasminogen activator, tPA. But tPA is a far-from-perfect solution, says Andrew Barreto, a neurologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. “IV-tPA will help about 30 of 100 patients who receive it within the first 4.5 hours after stroke symptom onset,” Barreto says. “But, many patients are still disabled, so we need better treatments.”
Barreto and some of his colleagues think that ultrasound could be one of those treatments. Ultrasound has been a valuable tool for diagnosing and tracking strokes in the brain for years. Now, a wide variety of new technologies are making it possible for neurosurgeons to use ultrasound waves, which travel at frequencies too high for the human ear to pick up, to not only identify the signs of stroke such as blood clots in the brain but also to help treat them.I was one of the fortunate who benefited from tPA - with minimal remaining effects of my stroke. It's great to hear that researchers are out there seeking more and better tools to battle strokes.
See the original article:
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David Letterman, New Year's Resolutions for a Stroke Survivor, and Other Things
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
This post is short. It's New Year's Eve, for cryin' out loud. It seems I'm all over the place, but wait a minute. I promise focus.
David Letterman is a funny man. And "The Top Ten" lists don't hurt his image. Beginning 1n 1985 with "The Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas," the lists still go on today. I'll wait for a promo of "The Top Ten," and if they're going to be on the show, I'll plan to watch them, but fatigue overtakes me sometimes and sleep is my go-to activiy.
Anyway, almost 30 years later from "The Top Ten" inception, I decided to do my own, and these are my "Top Ten New Year's Resolutions for 2014," from this stroke survivor, in reverse order, inspired by Letterman:
Base of Support
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| Amy Shissler My Cerebellar Stroke Recovery |
The definition of balance is keeping your center of mass (COM) over your base of support(BOS). If your center of mass goes outside the base of support, you fall. Manipulating the COM/BOS is how therapists move people. Ok, so in standing, a woman’s center of mass is like around her belly button and a dude’s is around his chest. When you’re standing, your feet are your base so stand up and draw a circle around your feet – that’s your base of support. Stand with your feet wider apart, it’s easier to balance right? That’s because you just made your base of support bigger. When balancing on one leg you have a wee little base of support so it’s harder. That’s why therapists tell people to use canes and walkers, to increase their base of support. When you’re using a cane, your BOS is no longer just your feet but the point of that cane is included in the circle around your feet so the BOS is bigger.
But sometimes the muscles don’t cooperate or aren’t strong enough and it doesn’t matter how freakin’ big you make your BOS. So, yeah.
See the original article:
in
Piano Therapy
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| Grace Carpenter My Happy Stroke |
Since the spring, I’ve tried to practice piano regularly. It doesn’t sound much like music yet, but I have progressed a lot since the early days of my recovery. I work on scales, basic exercises, and pieces I learned when I was in third or fourth grade.
Sometimes I do have a good cry at the keyboard. I miss making real music. But I do think that trying play the piano has helped me a lot, in unexpected ways.
When I practice, often I don’t focus directly on finger dexterity, because it’s too frustrating. I still don’t have much sensation or proprioception in my hand and arm. So I focus on looking symmetrical while playing. I compare the angle of my right wrist to my left wrist, or left chest or the right chest, or the angle of my forearms.
Then I make tiny adjustments of position or posture, and at some point, I usually get a sudden feeling of awakening in some muscle in my right side. Usually it’s a muscle (or group of muscles) in my trunk: my shoulder, or upper back, or my chest, or my abdominal muscles. It can be a stretching feeling, or a heavy feeling, or an itchy feeling. But that feeling of my body waking up is addictive. So I try to hold on to that feeling, and make it happen again.
One day a few months ago, I was getting tired after about 15 minutes. I needed a change of pace, so I decided to really to work on arpeggios for the first time (but with my left hand--it’s too frustrating to try with my right hand at all). When I (and most people) play arpeggios, I have to lean from end one of the keyboard to the other end, and back again. So I leaned, and voila: I had that wonderful awakening feeling--in my right buttock. Now I think of arpeggios as “butt practice.”
I’m sure I could find a few reasons why regaining sensation in this part of my body is good. But the biggest is very utilitarian: any gain of sensation also helps me regain strength, and any gain of strength helps me to improve my gait. In stroke recovery, everything is connected.
Bach Minuet - 3 Years and 9 Months After Stroke:
Standard YouTube License @ Grace Carpenter
See the original article:
in
A New Beginning? Running Free Rights Back Under My Control
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| Kate Allatt A Rocky Stroke Recovery |
It’s only taken 8 months of careful re-negotiation and a further 6 months following a deferred period, after a new contract was signed.Standard YouTube License @ Kate Allatt
But, I am now back in control of MY life and how would be dramatized. (This is a delayed Xmas present for me!!)
Furthermore, I can try and secure the translation and audio rights to the book now.
Horseback Riding Problem
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| Jackie Poff Stroke Survivors Tattler |
In terror, she grabs for the horse's mane, but cannot seem to get a firm grip. She tries to throw her arms around the horse's neck, but she slides down the horse's side anyway. The horse gallops along, seemingly impervious to its slipping rider.
Finally, giving up her frail grip, the blonde attempts to leap away from the horse and throw herself to safety. Unfortunately, her foot has become entangled in the stirrup, she is now at the mercy of the horse's pounding hooves as her head is struck against the ground over and over.
As her head is battered against the ground, she is mere moments away from unconsciousness when to her great fortune......
Frank, the Walmart greeter, sees her dilemma and unplugs the horse. And you thought all they did was say "Hello" !!
The Teaching of Talking: “The Speech Correctionist.”
Every profession has gone through changes with time. Often changes bring additional knowledge and expertise. Listen as Mark Ittleman, Speech Language Pathologist shares some ideas about the process of speech correction that should be kept in mind by the therapist, parent, caregiver or family member. His book The Teaching of Talking can be found on the Teaching of Talking Website: http://www.teachingoftalking.com and is also available there to order through Audible.com. We hope you will like and friend us at http://www.facebook.com/teachingoftalking.
Standard YouTube License @ Mark Ittleman
Richard Resnick: Welcome to the Genomic Revolution
SSTattler: Only about 1 minutes "Dystonia" but a great video about Genomic.
http://www.ted.com In this accessible talk from TEDxBoston, Richard Resnick shows how cheap and fast genome sequencing is about to turn health care (and insurance, and politics) upside down.
Standard YouTube License @ TED
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