FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGY AND CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT OF POST SURGICAL BRADYKINESIA, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AND HYPERKINESIA

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGY AND CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT OF POST SURGICAL BRADYKINESIA, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AND HYPERKINESIA Zach Walker1*, Tomas Stangel2 and Susan Esposito1 1 Life University, United States 2 Stangel Functional Neurology, United States Background: A 78-year-old female presented to a functional neurology clinic with a chief complaint of decreased reasoning skills and difficulty with handwriting and other hand dexterity activities. In August 2015, the patient underwent a total knee replacement. She was given a combination of Dilaudid and Morphine to help control the pain post surgery. This combination of medication caused the patient to become unresponsive for 10 days, during which involuntary contractions of the bilateral upper extremity and right lower extremity were present. The right upper body contractions were strong enough to cause elbow flexion beyond her ear. Methods: A neurological examination revealed diminished reasoning skills and hand control, making it difficult to perform ADL’s (activities of daily living). A decreased right arm swing was observed during gait, which was exacerbated with dual mental tasking. A left corectasia was present. The patient exhibited an anterior head translation and mid thoracic hypertonicity. Increased flexor reflex afferent (FRA) response was present on plantar reflex testing. Finger tapping test on the right exhibited a grade 3 with 1 initial freeze and on the left showed decreased velocity. Her treatment consisted of light tactile point localization therapies on the right, breathing exercises, chiropractic adjustments, and gait training therapies. Mesencephalic stimulation utilizing light and sound on the right with a right biased convergence was also performed. Results: After 2 weeks of treatment the patient exhibited markedly better reasoning skills and hand dexterity by providing quicker and more appropriate responses to questions and increased ability to handle ADL’s. The accentuated FRA was resolved along with the corectasia. She had normal arm swing during gait with and without dual mental tasking, while mid thoracic hypertonicity, anterior head translation and flexed posture were all resolved, resulting in a posture exam that was within normal limits. Both right and left finger tapping increased in velocity and the right went from a grade 3 to a grade 1. Conclusion: Positive outcomes in this case warrant further study with these strategies in cases with post surgical medications causing movement disorders and cognitive impairments. Keywords: Functional Neurology, Hyperkinesia, Chiropractic Treatment, Movement Disorders, bradykinesia Conference: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: TBI and Neurodegeneration, Orlando, Florida, United States, 10 Dec - 14 Dec, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Case Reports for Poster Presentation Citation: Walker Z, Stangel T and Esposito S (2015). FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGY AND CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT OF POST SURGICAL BRADYKINESIA, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AND HYPERKINESIA. Front. Neurol. Conference Abstract: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: TBI and Neurodegeneration. doi: 10.3389/conf.fneur.2015.58.00031 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 31 Oct 2015; Published Online: 02 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Mr. Zach Walker, Life University, Marietta, GA, 30060, United States, zwalker@student.life.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Zach Walker Tomas Stangel Susan Esposito Google Zach Walker Tomas Stangel Susan Esposito Google Scholar Zach Walker Tomas Stangel Susan Esposito PubMed Zach Walker Tomas Stangel Susan Esposito Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.