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.

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.

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.

Homeopathy

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.

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.

Acupuncture and 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.

This treatment should ideally be started within six months of the stroke.

Supportive Treatments

Reflexology

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.