All about In-coordination and Fall
All about In-coordination and Fall
Most people’s body movement, like walking, running or throwing a ball is smooth and coordinated, and they do not require a tremendous amount of effort to do those job. However, some people have a problem in controlling their body muscle and coordinating them while picking up objects, walking or doing other activities. This condition is known as in-coordination and fall. The medical term is ataxia. It also creates difficulties in speech, swallowing and eye movement.
What is Ataxia?
Ataxia described as a movement disorder caused due to damage part of the brain that controls muscle coordination. Generally, it happens due to malfunction of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is a part of a brain that coordinates and controls the movement and balance of your body.
Symptoms
In some case, it is a slow-developing disease, and for other people, it may happen abruptly without warning. One of the most common signs of ataxia are movement coordination and balance loss. In more severe condition, you may have trouble in arms movement and walking. Slowly, it can lead to affecting your day-to-day activities like buttoning your shirt or writing. Its other symptoms are as follows:
Causes
Damages your spinal cord or brain or can often lead to ataxia. It mostly happens during car accidents.
When blood supply gets interrupted from reaching the parts of the brain, the brain stops getting an adequate amount of nutrition and oxygen. Therefore, due to lack of oxygen, the brain tissue and cells get deprived.
It is a term for a set of disorders triggered due to damage in the brain all through early development of the brain. It affects child’s capacity to harmonize body movement.
Ataxia is a rare condition of chickenpox and further epidemiologic infections. It appears during the healing phases of the virus but then again resolves with time.
Tumour growth in the brain can harm the cerebellum.
It is a probable consequence of certain medicines, such as barbiturates, sedatives and chemotherapy. Heavy alcohol and drugs consumption can also cause ataxia.
Not obtaining an adequate amount of Vitamin B12, Vitamin E and thiamine deficiency can also cause ataxia.
When to see a doctor?
Whenever you feel you are losing body balance, inappropriate muscle coordination, having a speech problem, having difficulty in swallowing or having difficulty in walking, you must visit a neurosurgeon immediately.
Treatment
Usually, ataxia is not entirely curable, but treatment can ease symptom and improve muscle movement and coordination.
For such condition, doctors prescribe walking sticks, crutches, walkers or wheelchairs to help a patient walk independently.
A doctor may prescribe medication and physical therapy to improve muscle strength and maintain mobility.
Ataxia also causes depression and anxiety to the patients. For such conditions, counselling and medication may help.
A speech therapist may improve communication problems. For such condition, a patient should learn how to use speech aids for emergencies.
It may include gamma-globulin injections treatment to boost the immune system.
However, there is no cure for ataxia. Some ataxia can also shorten a person’s life span. If it is caused due to surgeries, accidents or illness, the condition may improve, but it may even worsen if not taken care of.
