Why Do Strokes Cause Hemiplegia?
Why Do Strokes Cause Hemiplegia?Answer: Hemiplegia after stroke is common. But what is hemiplegia anyway? Hemiplegia is the term we use to describe paralysis of one side of the body. The term can be broken down into “hemi” which means “half,” and “plegia,” which means paralysis. To understand how strokes cause hemiplegia, lets try to understand the anatomy of the brain, brainstem and spinal cord. Imagine looking at a highway from a helicopter. For simplicity, this highway only travels south and is made up of 16 lanes. Several exits serve the 8 right-sided lanes (the right side of the body), and an equal number of exits serve the 8 left-sided lanes (the left side of the body). This highway represents the long nerve fibers which originate in the brain and travel south towards the brainstem and spinal cord where they exit in order to control the nerves that move our muscles on each side. But where is th
