cerebral palsy &spastic memiparesis

[Guest guest]

hello dears

i require some info about cerebral palsy and spastic hemiparesis in TCM. please help to me

 

cinserely

gadir 14 feb 2001

[Guest guest]

 

-

elham

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Wednesday, February 14, 2001 10:17 PM

[Chinese Traditional Medicine] cerebral palsy & spastic memiparesis

hello dearsi require some info about cerebral palsy and spastic hemiparesis in TCM. please help to mecinserelygadir 14 feb 2001

[Guest guest]

> i require some info about cerebral palsy and spastic hemiparesis in TCM.

>please help to me

 

Unfortunately my access to information concerning possible TCN Roots in

Western-defined medical conditions is very limited. I did do a search on my

two favorite sources of information - acupuncture.com and healingpeople.com

- and the information was very scarce. There is a mention of Kidney Jing

disorder and cerebral palsy on acupuncture.com. The little information on

healingpeople.com concerned non-TCM treatments. There also was a mention on

healingpeople.com of using Qi Gong in treating cerebral palsy. I'll forward

the few links I've found. I couldn't find anything on spastic paralysis or

spastic hemiparesis and TCM.

 

For readers unfamiliar with cerebral palsy, it's a condition characterized

by muscular incoordination and speech disturbance. There may be paralysis.

It's believed by many to result from injury to the brain before or during

birth.

 

Paresis is slight or partial paralysis. (Actually the term paresis can mean

more than this.) The prefix " hemi- " means half. For example, hemiplegia is

paralysis of the limbs on or one side of the body.

 

The fact that this is spastic paralysis is significant from both a Western

and a TCM standpoint. In spastic paralysis there is an increase in muscle

tone and no atrophy of muscles. The increased muscle tone results in

uncoordinated reflex activity and movement. In flaccid paralysis there is a

total loss of muscle tone, and the muscles atrophy and waste away. In

flaccid paralysis there is damage to the nerve fibers in the corticospinal

track. In spastic paralysis the damage is to motor (nerve) pathways other

than the corticospinals.

 

We usually think of damage to nerves as resulting from trauma. For example

an automobile wreck that severs the spinal cord and results in paralysis.

Injury caused by forceps during birth. The accident while lifting something

that results in needing to see a chiropractor or DO in order to set spinal

alignment right again. Etc. But nerves can be damaged or affected by other

things as well - infection, diet, toxins, etc. Diet most definitely can

influence levels of certain neurotransmitters and other substances which

impact on muscles as well as nerves. For example, people who are deficient

in magnesium often have a problem with muscles staying too contracted. They

need Mg in order to relax, and too much Mg can result in muscles being too

relaxed. Mg deficiency can result in a type of paralysis without atrophy of

muscles. In these cases the paralysis results from Mg deficiency.

 

Mg also is a GABA-enhancer. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. NMDA

is an excitatory neurotransmitter. NMDA enable nerves to " fire " ; GABA

inhibits their firing. Too much GABA relative to NMDA, and coma is the

result. Too much NMDA relative to GABA, and seizures result (not the only

possible cause of seizures). But long before the seizures appear, the

person can be overwhelmed by sensory input. The smells in a supermaket, the

patterns in a rug, etc. may be overwhelming. A touch may feel painful.

Think of the Edgar Allen Poe short story " The Fall of the House of Usher "

for an example of someone who is on sensory overload. Or, the fairy tale,

" The Princess and the Pea. " The relationship between inhibitory and

excitatory neurotransmitter is like a Yin-Yang relationship with the

excitatory ones being Yang in nature (Yang activates) and the inhibitory

ones being Yin in nature (Yin calms). BTW, one manifestation of a person

who is Yin Deficient is that the person may have an increased sensitivity to

pain.

 

For those new to TCM, from a TCM standpoint, any time a person has tremors,

tics, spasms, etc., automatically suspect and rule in or rule out Wind,

either External or Internal Wind. Also consider possible Liver involvement.

Some cases of paralysis are due to Wind. Stroke often is a Wind condition.

Especially suspect Wind and rule in or rule out in cases of paralysis on one

side of the body - with or without stroke. Some cases of parlysis and some

forms of palsy can be due to Exterior Wind (though I doubt something as

severe as cerebral palsy could have an Exterior Root though Exterior Wind

may worsen symptoms). Other cases may be due to Interior Wind. Three

things which can trigger Internal Wind are Blood Deficiency, Heat resulting

from infection and high fever, and Liver Yang Rising because of Liver Yin

Deficiency. (Intesting in view of inhibitory neurotransmitters being likened

to Yin.)

 

Phlegm is something else that can cause numbness and even paralysis.

According to Maciocia, nerve-ganglia swellings can be due to non-sbustantial

Phlegm. Phlegm in the channels can cause numbness. (Foundations, p. 196)

(For those new to TCM, the TCM concept of Phlegm is Dampness that has hung

around too long and congeled into Phlegm. The TCM concept of Phlegm

includes the Western concept of phlegm/ muccus and a whole lot more.)

 

And sometimes paralysis is caused strictly by trauma. This does not mean

that TCM cannot help in cases like this. It may be unable to repair the

direct damage from the trauma, but it can sure help with problems secondary

to the trauma. Problems like those that can arise from Blood Stasis (a

common result of trauma), Qi Stagnation, etc. It also can enable the person

to be as balanced as possible given the injury. (Note: Be careful in

treating cases of Blood Stasis in cases where the person has a problem with

bleeding too easily. From a TCM standpoint, this can include situations like

concurrent Spleen problems. From a Western standpoint this can include

problems like too few platelets, weakness of the walls of arteries, vitamin

K deficiency, etc. Bringing the person into balance may first have to

concentrate on the Spleen problems. Western doctors will need to address

Western-defined medical problems.

 

I wish I could have found some more detailed information concerning possible

TCM Roots of or TCM problems arising from cerebral palsy. Perhaps someone

else on the list has access to more complete information.

 

Victoria

 

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