Stroke

The human brain, awesome in its intricacy and power, is still largely a mystery to modern science. With more than 10 million nerve cells it is the home of all that we know and feel, the generator of every physical action and response.  Yet, unlike other cells in the body, brain cells once damaged are not good at repairing themselves.  And they can be damaged quite easily – by infection, injury, or oxygen starvation.  Should any part of the brain go without oxygenated blood for more than a few minutes the affected cells will pack up permanently – the body has suffered a stroke.

The signs of a stroke vary a great deal, depending on which part of the brain has been damaged, but symptoms range from a sudden loss of speech or movement to dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, and unconsciousness. They may last only a few hours: this is called a transient ischemic attack (T.I.A.).  If the symptoms don’t disappear, this is a full-scale stroke.

There are various ways that the flow of blood to the brain can be slowed or stopped. Sometimes a clot (thrombosis) forms, blocking the flow of oxygenated blood.  Or a blood clot (embolism) which formed somewhere else in the body breaks free and ends up blocking an artery to the brain.  In other cases, blood bursts through the wall of a weak artery into the brain (haemorrhage), eventually building into a clot.

The good health our arteries is crucial I avoiding strokes.  Anything that makes them fur up or harden – such as smoking or high levels of cholesterol (caused by eating animal fat, lack of exercise and stress) can make a stroke more likely.  These are not risks to be taken lightly: a third of first strokes are fatal.

Luckily, our brain cells have so many connections between them that healthy cells can often take over the function of damaged cells so that we hardly know that anything has gone wrong.  Half of stroke survivors return to full health, but much depends on how much damage has been done to the brain, as well as on the aftercare provided.

THE ORTHODOX APPROACH

Orthodox care and rehabilitation includes speech therapy and physiotherapy to help with recovering language and mobility. Sometimes doctors also prescribe anticoagulants (a range of medicines which includes aspirin) to stop other blood clots from forming.  Surgery may be necessary to remove any remaining obstructions from arteries.

THE HALE APPROACH

Any neurological symptoms such as visual disturbance, loss of balance or power, confusion, etc, must be assessed initially by your physician, who may refer you to a neurologist.  Complementary treatments have more to offer for neurological problems, including stroke, than orthodox treatment, although rehabilitation including speech therapy and physiotherapy are found in both camps.  As always a holistic approach is best.  If while you are undergoing complementary therapy the condition in any way worsens, ensure that your physician or neurological specialist is aware and assesses you further.

The Hale Clinic sees certain complementary medicine treatments playing a key role in stroke recovery.  The most important thing to remember is to start treatment as soon as possible after the stroke occurs.  However, some treatments, such as Marma massage, are of benefit to patients who have had a stroke as much as three or four years earlier.

Immediately after the stroke, homeopathy and cranial osteopathy can be of great assistance, although it may not be possible to have these treatments in a hospital.  In addition a course of acupuncture combines well with Marma massage twice a week over about a three-month period (depending on the severity of the stroke) – see below under Marma Massage and Acupuncture/Chinese Herbs for details of research into these treatments for stroke patients.  Clinical aromatherapy will help support the patient emotionally through these changes and the massage will stimulate the blood and relax muscles in the affected limbs, speeding up the recovery process.

Special exercises are very important to enhance and maintain the benefits of this treatment.  They can be combined with healing, a good diet, reflexology, and the use of essential oils.

MARMA MASSAGE

The knowledge of vital points in treating injuries has been used for thousands of years by Ayurvedic physicians.  In 1995 a pilot study was held to see how Marma could help chronic stroke patients.  For six months one Marma practitioner gave treatment twice a week to a dozen elderly people who were bedridden and too ill to go home after suffering strokes.  After he had massaged the Marma points to promote healing in related parts of the body, his patients showed “modest but definite improvement” concluded the report.  “Physiotherapy is generally not very effective in such cases”, it went on, but Marma massage is “very promising”.

The practitioner in question sees stroke damage as lack of co-ordination between body and mind.  Marma therapy for a stroke normally consists of 24 half-hour sessions once or twice a week, together with intensive exercises to practice at home (see below).  “Marma therapy can clear away obstructions between muscles, nerves and the brain”, explains the practitioner, “so that the brain can relearn how to control and co-ordinate the body, helping you to get back to a normal life”.   More about marma massage...

AYURVEDA

In this ancient Indian system of health care, the body’s active energies need to be balanced and maintained in order to stay well.  Powerful oils and herbal medicines may be used to treat people who have had strokes.  Treatment concentrating on the Vata dosha, which controls the nervous system, can correct obstructions to the nerve pathways, believes one Ayurvedic practitioner.  “Panchakarma (revitalizing) methods are highly successful and should be given regularly”. He also prescribes exercises, according to the condition of the individual.  A course of treatment can take months or even years, with consultations once a month.

This practitioner has recently treated a 69 year old lawyer whose right side was weakened by a stroke in 1995: “After an eight-month –long course of Ayurvedic treatment he is now able to walk with no more than a slight limp.  These methods have proved highly successful in India and Sri Lanka, where almost all cases of stroke are treated by specialist Ayurvedic physicians”. More about ayurveda...

HOMEOPATHY

Aconite 30x Is a remedy which – by stimulating your adrenal gland- can help the body to repair itself very swiftly.  “If this is given early, it could make a major difference to recovery from stroke”, according to one homeopath, who recommends taking it at 10-minute intervals until medical help arrives.

After a stroke a constitutional remedy will usually be prescribed to bolster your general health, and beyond that there are many homeopathic remedies – depending on your symptoms – which can support other treatments.  Among them are the snake and spider poison remedies which relate to paralysis and bleeding.  Agaricus may be helpful in the relief of pain, but, as with all homeopathic remedies, accurate prescription by an experienced professional is very important.  More about homeopathy...

HEALING

Some healers use a “hands on” technique; others stay a short distance away from clients, in a process which one therapist describes as “the channelling of incredibly high energy”.

In her perception, strokes have the effect of “forcing people out of their physical bodies, with the result that they come back into the body on one side or at an angle” – hence the one-sided weakness or paralysis that accompanies strokes.

“Through healing I work to realign a person’s energies so that – among other things – the blood circulates properly and the nervous system functions again”.  More about healing...

CRANIAL OSTEOPATHY

In this very gentle and subtle form of manipulation, which works to re-establish a normal cranial rhythmic impulse (C.R.I.), cranial osteopaths work with the skeletal system and its supporting tissues to take the body to a point of balance.

Practitioners work with the structural supports of the skull as well as working with the cerebral spinal fluid through the C.R.I.  “The aim of all cranial osteopathy is to restore normal function”, explains one, “assisting the body’s self-healing mechanisms.  After a stroke, I would work to restore the normal function of the blood supply, especially to and from the head”.

The therapy varies according to the type of stroke and its causes, “but it is always a gentle technique using very small movements”.  This makes it especially suitable for those of us who can’t bear to be physically pulled around.  The number of treatments needed after a stroke can vary depending on the response of the patient.  Ongoing maintenance may also be recommended – further “fine tuning” is always possible with cranial osteopathy.  Depending on the seriousness of damage to the brain “stroke patients have responded very well indeed”.  More about cranial osteopathy...

ACUPUNCTURE/CHINESE HERBS

In Chinese medicine, health is maintained when chi (vital energy) is well-balanced throughout the body.  A combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs may be used to help people suffering from the after-effects of a stroke.  “These therapies regulate the energy balance of the body and can get through blockages in the meridians”, explains one acupuncturist.  Stroke treatment would concentrate on the stomach meridian.  Within about a dozen sessions of treatment he would expect to see “some improvement in some patients, complete recovery in others”. 

This treatment should ideally be started within six months of the stroke.  A recent research study in Sweden showed that acupuncture achieved better results than physiotherapy in the treatment of those who had suffered strokes. More about acupuncture...

SELF-CARE

Anything that helps keep your blood circulating in a healthy way can help recovery from a stroke.  A whole-food diet, low in animal fats and high in fresh fruit and vegetables, together with exercises (such as those taught as a part of Marma therapy, see below) are crucial. It’s also important to stop smoking and to learn to relax in order to combat stress.

Exercises

Simply daily exercises based on Marma therapy stimulate the nervous system and the Marma points can aid recovery from a stroke.  The theory is that information from your brain can become blocked at the joints; to remedy this, you rotate your ankle, knee, hip, wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints 20 times in each direction (clockwise and anti-clockwise).  You can learn these exercises in one session in order to practice them at home on a daily basis.

SUPPORTIVE TREATMENTS

Reflexology

“Reflexology treats the whole system”, according to one reflexologist, “countering the feelings of exhaustion, debility and disorientation which often follow a stroke and encouraging the body’s own healing mechanism to get into gear”.

In addition, by concentrating on stimulating the circulation of the blood, a reflexologist can help the collateral circulation which develops to circumvent blood clots in the body.

Perhaps most important of all, reflexology is a deeply relaxing and very pleasant therapy, making it a “wonderful adjunct” to treatment for stroke.

Aromatherapy

This treatment can work powerfully on mind and body to help with relaxation.  Oils such as rosemary, lemon, and lavender help to improve blood circulation and edema and induce relaxation.

Flower Remedies

Cherokee Rose (Petite Fleur), Fortunes Double Yellow (Petite Fleur) and Fireweed (Pacific) are useful aids to relaxation.

Colonic Hydrotherapy

This treatment can be very beneficial for paralysis of the bowel caused by stroke.