What is hemiplegia? What are the types of hemiplegia?

Many elderly people are likely to suffer from hemiplegia, especially those with vascular diseases. Hemiplegia can cause movement disorders, so people should treat hemiplegia symptomatically in time. Only by mastering the classification of hemiplegia can they treat it symptomatically. What is hemiplegia? What types of hemiplegia are there?

What is hemiplegia?

Hemiplegia, also known as half of the body paralysis, refers to the movement disorder of the upper and lower limbs, facial muscles and lower part of the tongue muscles on one side. It is a common symptom of acute cerebrovascular disease. Although patients with mild hemiplegia can still move, when they walk, their upper limbs are often flexed and their lower limbs are straight. The paralyzed lower limbs make a half circle with each step. We call this special walking posture hemiplegic gait. In severe cases, patients are often bedridden and lose their ability to live.

Classification of hemiplegia

1. Complete hemiplegia:

It refers to the paralysis of the central facial nerve, hypoglossal nerve and upper and lower limbs on one side. The degree of paralysis is complete and the muscle strength is zero.

2. Incomplete hemiplegia: refers to mild central paralysis of the facial nerve, hypoglossal nerve, upper and lower limbs on one side, which can be divided into grades 1 to 4 according to the degree.

3. Equal hemiplegia:

It refers to central facial nerve paralysis, central hypoglossal nerve paralysis and central upper and lower limb paralysis on one side of the body to equal degrees. Whether it is complete or incomplete hemiplegia, the degree of paralysis of these three parts is always equal. Equivalent hemiplegia is more common in damage to the internal capsule, because the internal capsule is the concentration of motor fibers. A small lesion in the internal capsule can damage all motor fibers passing through the internal capsule, resulting in complete or incomplete equivalent hemiplegia. In addition, equal hemiplegia can also be seen when there are larger lesions in the subcortical white matter.

4. Unequal hemiplegia: refers to the unequal degree of central facial nerve paralysis, central hypoglossal nerve paralysis, central upper limb paralysis and central lower limb paralysis. It is characteristic of subcortical white matter lesions. The uneven hemiplegia that occurs depends on the location of the lesion, which is generally divided into two situations: 1. Hemiplegia mainly affecting the facial nerve, hypoglossal nerve and upper limbs: it can be seen when the subcortical white matter in the lower 2/3 of the anterior central gyrus is damaged, which is common in cerebrovascular disease, tumors, brain abscesses, encephalitis, demyelinating brain diseases and brain trauma; 2. Hemiplegia mainly affecting the lower limbs: it can be seen in lesions of the subcortical white matter in the upper 1/3 of the anterior central gyrus. The main symptoms are severe paralysis of the lower limbs, while paralysis of the upper limbs and facial and hypoglossal nerves is mild.