Yoga holds promise for people with paralysis. Yogasanas can enhance the body's healing capacity and help in early recovery.
Paralysis is the loss of muscle function, usually followed by sensory loss in the affected areas. Some of the causes of paralysis stroke, trauma, nerve damage, polio, multiple sclerosis, etc. Paralysis is either partial or full. After a paralytic attack, physiotherapy exercises are recommended to regain movement in the affected areas and to restore the brain-body connection. We asked Dr Shraddha Singtamer, Head of the Department, Physiotherapy, SriSri Tattva Panchakarma, Art Of Living to tells us if yoga could help paralytic patients. “In paralysis cases where there is minimal movement, we can help them recover with pranayama and exercises. If the hands are not affected, they can do upper body movements and pranayamas like anulom vilom,” Dr Shraddha says.
The Medical Research Council Grading of post-stroke health is based on muscle strength. The severity of muscle weakness can be classified into different “Grades” based on the following criteria:
Grade 0: No contraction or muscle movement.
Grade 1: Trace of contraction, but no movement at the joint.
Grade 2: Movement at the joint with gravity eliminated.
Grade 3: Movement against gravity, but not against added resistance.
Grade 4: Movement against external resistance with less strength than usual.
Grade 5: Normal strength.
According to Dr Shraddha, an appropriate yoga regime can be prescribed and practised based on this grade:
Grade 0( no movement)- Remember that the patient is still breathing! So pranayama like deep ujjayi breaths and yog nidra for a few days will give good results.
Grade 1 and 2 -Various mudra pranayamas (using chin mudra and maha mudra) can be practised. If the patient is not able to move fingers, one can manually help them to put the fingers in a mudra position and tape it up for a few deep breaths. This helps to enhance the muscle strength.
Grade 3 and 4 – They can do almost all asanas like a normal person. Initially, the muscle strength to hold positions is less but with help of breathing exercises, the strength improves and can upgrade to normal muscle strength.
How much time can yoga take for rehabilitation of paralysis patients?
The time frame for recovery is determined by the cause of paralysis. In case of a neural cause or a tumour obstructing the passage of nerves, it takes a longer time and the cause has to be treated. In case of injury to the spine, one needs to rule out the need of surgery and then perform yoga. If the cause is high blood pressure, then the blood pressure has to be lowered with yoga and meditation.
The asanas will depend on the body parts affected, and advice from a certified yoga instructor is recommended.
Courtesy: The Health Site
