A list of common and interesting stroke

symptoms.Not an exhausted list!

http://plasticphysio.wordpress.com/

Motor and sensory

Hemiplegia

• Total paralysis of the arm, trunk and leg on one side of the body.• Occurs contralateral to the side

of the infarct.• Hemiparesis is a similar term

that refers to a weakness on side of the body.

Hemisensory deficits

• Decreased sensory awareness of one side of the body.• Often occurs in a boot or glove

like distribution• Often assessed with light touch

with Pt required to call out the side being touched• Don’t forget other senses: pain,

proprioception, temperature, etc.

Apraxia

• Loss of the ability to carry out learned movements• A disorder of motor planning, Pt

will have the desire and motor ability to complete the task

Ataxia

• Disturbed movement coordination• Pt may look drunk, think ataxia

or check the alcohol hand gel• Lesions usually located within

cerebellum or brainstem

Lateropulsion

• A tendency move or lean sideways involuntarily

Vision and perception

Neglect

• Pt acts as if one side of space does not exist• This is with the absence of visual

deficits• More commonly seen with right-

sided infarcts

Homonymous hemianopia

• Blindness or reduction of vision in one half of the visual field• Occurs on the same side of both

eyes

Quadrantanopia

• A defect of the visual field that effects just a quarter of the field.

Tactile agnosia

• Agnosia is a loss of ability to recognize things without defective senses or memory.• Tactile agnosia refers to the loss

of the ability to recognise things by touch.

Diplopia

• Double vision

Nystagmus

• Rapid eye movements in one direction, alternating with a slower movement in the opposite direction

Language and communication

Aphasia

• Inability to communicate • Receptive or fluent aphasia,

inability to understand language in its written or spoken form.• Expressive or non-fluent aphasia,

inability to generate speech.

Dysarthia

• Motor disorder of speech• Characterised by poor

articulation• Pt finds it difficult to produce or

sustain range, force, speed an coordination of movements to articulate

Other

Anosognosia

• A deficit of self-awareness, • A person who suffers certain

disability seems unaware of the existence of his or her disability.

Aprosodia

• Inability of a person to properly convey or interpret emotional context

Dysphagia

• Difficulty with swallowing due lack of control and coordination of the muscles involved

Alexia

• Acquired dyslexia

Aboulia

• Refers to a lack of will or initiative • Can be seen as a disorder of

diminished motivation

Vertigo

• Dizziness in which the Pt inappropriate experiences the perception of motion.• Associated with nausea and

vommiting

References

• Stokes M and Stack E (2011) Physical Management for Neurological Conditions (Third Edition). Edinburgh: Elsevier