Therapy options will vary depending on the underlying cause of the hemiplegia and the condition’s severity.

Some potential therapies for hemiplegia include:

Medical Interventions

Medical interventions for hemiplegia are designed to help improve the hemiplegic’s health or alter the progression of a disease that may be causing hemiplegia. Some examples of medical intervention therapies for hemiplegics are:

Blood Thinners

For cases where the hemiplegia was caused by an ischemic stroke, blood thinners are a common form of hemiplegia therapy. Blood thinners, or anticoagulants, can be used to prevent blood clots in the brain—reducing the risk of future strokes.

However, people on blood thinners should be careful, as they can cause excessive bleeding following an injury.

Muscle Relaxants

Muscle relaxants may be prescribed to a spastic hemiplegic to help their paralyzed side’s muscles relax. This can help prevent stiffness and reduce pain for some hemiplegics.

Antibiotics

When a bacterial disease causes a brain or spinal cord injury, one of the first therapies that a doctor may recommend is likely to be an antibiotic medicine like amoxicillin. Antibiotics help the body fight off bacteria-based infections, which helps prevent the progression of the infection.

This is often done as the first step to a therapy regimen prior to surgery to make surgical interventions easier.

Electrical Stimulation

Electrical stimulation is the term for when therapists use electrodes to transmit low-level electrical currents directly to a person’s muscles. Patients with hemiplegia undergo electrical stimulation to force their paralyzed muscles to contract.

This stimulation can reduce the occurrence of muscle spasms, prevent muscle atrophy, and, in some cases, increase muscle control.

Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy

Modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) involves the use of a “safety mitt” to restrain a hemiplegic’s less-impaired limbs. This mitt is left on the patient for several hours a day over the course of a few weeks as they practice repetitive tasks.

Studies have indicated positive results for mCIMT when used to treat patients with hemiplegia, with one study’s results stating that “Post-hoc analysis revealed that compared to conventional rehabilitation group, mCIMT group showed significantly better scores at 1 month.”

Surgical Interventions

Surgical interventions are those procedures where a hemiplegic is operated on to address a critical issue. These are frequently performed for patients who have suffered a major injury to their brain or spinal cord that caused their hemiplegia and need surgery to prevent further damage.

Remove Swelling or Objects Lodged in the Brain

Surgery is often performed on people with traumatic brain injuries to reduce swelling from blood collection (hematomas) in the brain or to remove foreign objects lodged in the skull cavity. This can help alleviate pressure on the parts of the brain controlling motor function—which can help reduce symptoms for some patients.

Removing foreign objects, in particular, can be critical for preventing infections that can cause further damage to the brain.

Addressing Secondary Issues Such as Spinal Damage, Muscle Contractions, or Ligament Damage

Surgeons may operate on a hemiplegic patient to address secondary concerns with the patient’s health, such as damage to the spine (like a herniated disc), abnormal muscle contractions, and damage to the ligaments or tendons of the body.

Surgery to address these issues is particularly common for cases where the hemiplegia was caused by a catastrophic injury and may require months of recovery time.

Therapeutic Interventions

Aside from surgery and medication, hemiplegics may need to undergo different forms of therapy (both mental and physical) to help them adapt to their new lifestyle. There are many forms of therapeutic intervention, including:

Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is a common ongoing process used to help improve the general health of people with paralysis of all kinds. Hemiplegics often undergo physical therapy to prevent muscle atrophy, reduce the occurrence of sores, and improve cardiovascular health.

Physical therapy focuses on diagnosing and treating specific problems with movement and promoting the patient’s physical health. Physical therapists (PTs) help hemiplegics build physical strength and develop healthy habits.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy has a lot of similarities to physical therapy. However, an occupational therapist (OT) focuses more on helping people resume normal daily living than just improving health.

While a physical therapist might focus on strength training to prevent atrophy, an occupational therapist may train a hemiplegic in how to cook or help them remodel their home for improved accessibility.

Support Groups

Emotional support can be priceless for a hemiplegic following an injury. Getting used to a body that does not work the way it used to, making changes in daily habits to account for new needs, and dealing with a proverbial mountain of medical bills and paperwork is incredibly stressful.

Support groups and group therapy sessions can help hemiplegics by giving them a safe place to share their burdens and even get advice about how to cope with their condition.

Psychotherapy

Aside from joining a support group for general advice and emotional support, a hemiplegic may need specialized psychiatric care following their injury to help them cope with their physical and mental changes.

Psychotherapy sessions can allow a psychiatrist to diagnose a patient’s mental health and identify specific issues that may require further therapy.

Mental Imagery

Mental imagery (sometimes referred to as motor imagery) is a tool that sports therapists often use to help injured athletes recover. Certain brain structures are activated by imagining or looking at specific images.

While there is not a wide consensus about the effectiveness of mental imagery, case studies of hemiparesis patients featured in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation have shown that “Performance of the paretic limb improved after the imagery intervention, indicated by increases in assessment scores and functionality and decreases in movement times.”

Assistive Device and Assistive Technology Use

Many people with different forms of paralysis use assistive devices and technology to maintain a degree of independence after becoming paralyzed. Hemiplegics might use motorized wheelchairs, adjustable desks/tables, touchscreen devices, voice-controlled smart home devices, and more to make living with hemiplegia easier.

Alternative Therapies

To cope with hemiplegia, many people turn to alternative therapy options such as massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy, and other non-standard therapy options. Massage therapy can help alleviate stress and prevent muscle atrophy through forced muscle movement.

However, the effectiveness of alternative therapies may vary in different patients, so it is important to consult with a qualified doctor before signing up for alternative therapy.