Paralysis: Causes and Consultations

Paralysis is a medical condition characterized by the inability to move one or more muscles. Paralysis also causes a loss of feeling in the affected area. Paralysis may be temporary, depending on the cause. However if paralysis is the result of damage to the nervous system, it is usually permanent.

There are many potential causes of paralysis: The two most common causes of paralysis are stroke and trauma, particularly to the nervous system or the brain or to the nerves that affect muscles. Certain diseases such as poliomyelitis (infectious disease caused by polio), peroneal dystrophy (a disease of the motor system), spina bifida (birth defect of bad spinal cord development), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (progressive nerve cell disease), Bell’s palsy (facial nerve damage), Guillain-Barre Syndrome (nerve disease with fever and inflammation), and multiple sclerosis may also cause paralysis to occur. Botulism, paralytic shellfish poisoning, and certain types of poisons, particularly those that directly affect the nervous system, may also lead to paralysis.

The type of paralysis a person has depends on the underlying cause. With Bell’s palsy, for example, the paralysis is usually localized, which means it only affects a small area of the person’s body. Typically, only one side of the person’s face becomes paralyzed as the facial nerve on that side becomes inflamed. When only one side of a person’s body is affected, paralysis is considered unilateral. When it affects both sides, it is bilateral. A person who has experienced a stroke may experience weakness throughout his body. This is referred to as global paralysis. Conversely, the person may only experience weakness on one side of his body, known as hemiplegia.

Generally, the most severe form of paralysis is caused by damage to the spinal cord. A person who experiences trauma in his or her upper spinal cord may develop quadriplegia as a result. A person who is quadriplegic is unable to move his or her arms and legs. Injury to the lower spinal cord may cause paraplegia, which results in either the legs or the arms becoming paralyzed. In severe cases of paralysis, it may be necessary for the individual to be fed through feeding tubes.

Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling as in paralysis. Frequent causes of damage are trauma from a car accident, gunshot, and falling or some of the above mentioned diseases plus Lou Gehrig’s disease or medical malpractice. The nerves that lie within the spinal cord are upper motor neurons and their function is to carry the messages back and forth from the brain to the spinal nerves along the spinal tract.

The effects of spinal cord injury depend on the type of injury and the level of the injury. A complete injury means that there is no function below the level of the injury; no sensation, and no voluntary movement. Both sides of the body are equally affected. An incomplete injury means that there is some functioning below the primary level of the injury. A person with an incomplete injury may be able to move one limb more than another, may be able to feel parts of the body that cannot be moved, or may have more functioning on one side of the body than the other.

Paralysis is a quality-of-life changing affliction. If you or a family member suffers from paralysis caused by medical malpractice, moving vehicle accident, slip and fall, botulism, pharmaceutical drugs or clinical trials, or any number of reasons – consider consulting with a law firm with a winning track record in paralysis lawsuits.