Hello and welcome to Health for a Lifetime. 00:00:51.83\00:00:54.68 I'm your host Don Mackintosh and today we're joined with 00:00:54.71\00:00:57.71 Dr. Phillip Mills from Wichita, Kansas. 00:00:57.74\00:00:59.35 Welcome, Doctor. 00:00:59.38\00:01:00.98 Today we're going to be talking about a very interesting subject 00:01:01.01\00:01:05.60 that is strokes. 00:01:05.63\00:01:06.64 You've titled our interview today... 00:01:06.67\00:01:09.24 This is for the golfers! 00:01:09.27\00:01:10.68 Making Par on Strokes. 00:01:10.71\00:01:13.08 I think that's a clever name, but what does it mean exactly? 00:01:13.11\00:01:17.18 What I want to talk about here is proper treatment 00:01:17.21\00:01:20.21 so that the people who have had strokes get the maximum 00:01:20.24\00:01:25.14 recovery that science can bring today in the Lord. 00:01:25.17\00:01:28.55 What is a stroke? 00:01:28.58\00:01:30.67 A stroke is a problem where there is a blood supply loss 00:01:30.70\00:01:36.00 to a certain portion of the brain. 00:01:36.03\00:01:37.61 There are several areas of the brain with many different 00:01:37.64\00:01:42.77 blood vessels. 00:01:42.80\00:01:44.38 Any of a number of problems can result from a stroke 00:01:44.41\00:01:52.02 because that part of the brain is damaged. 00:01:52.05\00:01:55.68 It didn't have sufficient oxygen because it didn't get blood. 00:01:55.71\00:01:59.60 I assume that not having oxygen probably can be caused from 00:01:59.63\00:02:03.87 different reasons. 00:02:03.90\00:02:05.21 Well, if you don't get blood to a cell 00:02:05.24\00:02:08.36 it has no way to breathe. 00:02:08.39\00:02:11.31 Then it can either get very sick if it lasts only a short time 00:02:11.34\00:02:17.30 or it can actually die. 00:02:17.33\00:02:19.33 Unfortunately in the brain if you have brain tissue that dies 00:02:19.36\00:02:23.14 there is no way for your body to regenerate brain tissue 00:02:23.17\00:02:28.51 and we don't have any mechanism, any surgery, any medicines to 00:02:28.54\00:02:33.06 regenerate brain tissue. 00:02:33.09\00:02:34.73 So what you want to do is make sure that you have as short 00:02:34.76\00:02:40.56 a time, with oxygen loss, as possible. 00:02:40.59\00:02:43.02 That's what the treatment is designed to cut down 00:02:43.05\00:02:46.42 on the injury to that area of the brain 00:02:46.45\00:02:49.53 that lost the blood supply. 00:02:49.56\00:02:51.37 Now if you look at the types of strokes that you can have 00:02:51.40\00:02:56.47 we could basically divide it into two categories. 00:02:56.50\00:03:00.97 There is several ways to divide it. 00:03:01.00\00:03:02.81 But there is the category in which there is bleeding and 00:03:02.84\00:03:07.62 there's the category in which there isn't any bleeding 00:03:07.65\00:03:10.24 with the stroke. 00:03:10.27\00:03:11.53 Immediately when a person begins to have symptoms of a stroke 00:03:11.56\00:03:16.69 either sudden loss of memory, have sudden blindness, even if 00:03:16.72\00:03:21.33 it doesn't last a long period of time, sudden loss of speech, 00:03:21.37\00:03:25.95 confusion perhaps, or sudden loss of the use of one side 00:03:25.98\00:03:30.92 of the body, left or right side, that person should have an 00:03:30.95\00:03:35.85 immediate evaluation in acute care and they can 00:03:35.89\00:03:40.02 determine whether or not there is bleeding. 00:03:40.05\00:03:41.98 If there is bleeding then they will have one type of treatment. 00:03:42.02\00:03:48.23 If there is not bleeding there's actually some new techniques 00:03:48.26\00:03:52.74 to try to take care of clots. 00:03:52.78\00:03:55.59 Now once the patient has been stabilized then there are 00:03:55.62\00:04:01.16 several areas that need to be looked at so that you can 00:04:01.19\00:04:06.66 maximize the person's abilities and minimize their disabilities. 00:04:06.69\00:04:14.54 That's actually my area of specialty in rehabilitation. 00:04:14.57\00:04:19.52 I look at Jesus, He was a rehab doctor. 00:04:19.56\00:04:22.77 In the book of Revelation He gives the great 00:04:22.81\00:04:26.84 instruction to rehab. 00:04:26.88\00:04:29.90 He says strengthen what remains. 00:04:29.94\00:04:32.25 We take a person that may have lost some function 00:04:32.29\00:04:35.84 and we strengthen what remains. 00:04:35.88\00:04:38.30 I would like to go over some of those details with our audience. 00:04:38.34\00:04:42.36 Before you get to those details which I know probably most 00:04:42.40\00:04:46.54 people that are with us today either know someone who has 00:04:46.57\00:04:50.15 had a stroke or perhaps they've had one themselves because 00:04:50.18\00:04:53.31 it's so prevalent, but is it something that just happens with 00:04:53.34\00:04:56.52 older people or should everyone be interested in this subject? 00:04:56.55\00:04:59.70 It is something that can happen at any age. 00:04:59.73\00:05:03.42 But as a young person we can develop habits of life that 00:05:03.46\00:05:10.06 decrease our risk of stroke. 00:05:10.10\00:05:12.67 Let me give you some examples. 00:05:12.71\00:05:15.21 Back well over 100 years ago there were a lot of strokes. 00:05:15.24\00:05:21.44 It wasn't because they had the high fat diet. 00:05:21.47\00:05:24.53 It was because they had a high salt diet. 00:05:24.57\00:05:27.56 They had a slightly different kind of stroke in the 1800's 00:05:27.60\00:05:31.77 then we have today. 00:05:31.80\00:05:32.93 But it was their lifestyle. 00:05:32.96\00:05:34.47 As they changed from the high salt - your salt pork, 00:05:34.51\00:05:38.09 your salt meat, preserved salt foods - pickles and those, 00:05:38.13\00:05:42.99 As society changed from that we still had strokes but now we 00:05:43.03\00:05:47.86 have a different kind of cause of strokes. 00:05:47.90\00:05:52.04 Today a common cause of strokes is atherosclerosis. 00:05:52.07\00:05:57.53 If we want to live so that we can avoid strokes we will 00:05:57.57\00:06:03.95 try to avoid the breaking of the natural law in our youth 00:06:03.99\00:06:09.77 so that we can decrease the risk of stroke as we grow older. 00:06:09.81\00:06:15.09 So we won't smoke, drink, won't eat bad foods, make sure we 00:06:15.13\00:06:20.37 get enough water, all these different kind of things. 00:06:20.41\00:06:22.31 Correct. 00:06:22.34\00:06:23.31 Well, let's go on. 00:06:23.32\00:06:24.98 The people that have had strokes or know people that have had 00:06:25.02\00:06:28.94 strokes, are going to be most interested I think in some of 00:06:28.98\00:06:32.87 the things you have to share. 00:06:32.91\00:06:33.88 What are some common problems that arise? 00:06:33.89\00:06:35.38 Maybe we can talk about those and then we can go through 00:06:35.42\00:06:38.54 and what should we do about the common problems that arise 00:06:38.58\00:06:41.67 if someone has a stroke. 00:06:41.71\00:06:42.86 One of the things that people forget is that you're not just 00:06:42.90\00:06:48.09 arm and leg when it comes to muscles. 00:06:48.12\00:06:50.70 The musculoskeletal system involves muscles everywhere. 00:06:50.73\00:06:54.85 One of the most important muscles that we just don't even 00:06:54.88\00:06:58.96 give a second thought to is our swallow muscles. 00:06:59.00\00:07:01.89 If I am paralyzed on the right side of my arm and I'm paralyzed 00:07:01.93\00:07:08.98 on the right side of my leg guess where else I'm probably 00:07:09.02\00:07:12.56 paralyzed or maybe paralyzed? 00:07:12.59\00:07:15.67 I may have some paralysis, possibly could include 00:07:15.71\00:07:19.07 the tongue, it may also include the throat. 00:07:19.11\00:07:22.41 Now we would think of that because a person has 00:07:22.44\00:07:25.40 with a right sided paralysis may have difficulty with speech. 00:07:25.44\00:07:29.55 But the truth of the matter is a person that is paralyzed on 00:07:29.59\00:07:33.67 the left side may also have problems with swallowing 00:07:33.70\00:07:36.75 and a high percentage do. 00:07:36.78\00:07:37.94 Not only do they have problems swallowing but they may not 00:07:37.97\00:07:41.82 be aware of it. 00:07:41.85\00:07:42.82 They go to the hospital and they're eating. 00:07:42.83\00:07:45.42 And when you eat food it was designed a very meticulous 00:07:45.46\00:07:50.74 structure with a lot of complication in it to make 00:07:50.77\00:07:58.69 the food you eat go into your stomach and not into your lungs. 00:07:58.72\00:08:03.60 There's a common pathway here in my mouth when I open my 00:08:03.64\00:08:08.73 mouth and I breath in, why is it not going into my stomach? 00:08:08.76\00:08:13.15 Whereas if I took and drank a glass of water, it would go into 00:08:13.18\00:08:17.53 that mouth, but without any thinking on my part, it goes 00:08:17.57\00:08:20.95 into my stomach not into my lungs. 00:08:20.98\00:08:23.56 How does that take place? 00:08:23.60\00:08:25.61 It takes place in the throat. 00:08:25.64\00:08:27.97 These muscles may be paralyzed 00:08:28.00\00:08:30.09 and they may be sensorial loss. 00:08:30.13\00:08:32.15 So a person is eating and swallowing the food into 00:08:32.19\00:08:36.88 their lungs and they don't even know it - not coughing, 00:08:36.92\00:08:40.01 no problems. 00:08:40.05\00:08:41.24 So they could get pneumonia and all these different things. 00:08:41.28\00:08:44.42 They get pneumonia and one of the first things that needs to 00:08:44.46\00:08:47.57 be evaluated, once a patient is stable, is to determine 00:08:47.60\00:08:53.30 how safe their throat is for swallowing food to make sure 00:08:53.33\00:08:58.99 it's going into the stomach and not the lungs. 00:08:59.03\00:09:00.76 So swallowing food is one big thing. 00:09:00.79\00:09:04.19 What is another thing? 00:09:04.22\00:09:05.24 Well, let me state more about that. 00:09:05.28\00:09:07.69 We often times will think a speech therapist should see 00:09:07.73\00:09:11.03 somebody if they've had a stroke and can't talk. 00:09:11.06\00:09:13.21 But a speech therapist should also see a patient if they've 00:09:13.25\00:09:16.64 had a stroke - period - just to evaluate the swallow. 00:09:16.68\00:09:20.71 They will put some food and then they will watch. 00:09:20.75\00:09:24.72 Depending on the results of that evaluation we may need to 00:09:24.75\00:09:32.32 get special x-rays to work with the swallowing 00:09:32.36\00:09:37.16 Another problem that you have to consider is the problem with 00:09:37.19\00:09:42.16 the bowel bladder. 00:09:42.20\00:09:43.19 If I am paralyzed on one side of the body the bladder muscles 00:09:43.23\00:09:50.00 and the bowel muscles may also have a paralysis 00:09:50.03\00:09:54.89 on a portion on one side. 00:09:54.92\00:09:56.86 So they're just weak on that one side? 00:09:56.90\00:09:58.91 Yes, the sphincters that control that. 00:09:58.94\00:10:00.85 And so a person may have incontinence. 00:10:00.88\00:10:04.30 Now those two areas - eating and incontinence - if we can't get 00:10:04.33\00:10:10.37 a person independent and safe in eating and if we cannot get a 00:10:10.40\00:10:14.25 person independent and safe in their bowel bladder control, 00:10:14.28\00:10:17.62 then those people seldom will be able to go home. 00:10:17.65\00:10:21.29 They will have to go to a nursing home where they can have 00:10:21.32\00:10:24.92 more attended care. 00:10:24.95\00:10:27.52 Some people might not understand the word - incontinence. 00:10:27.55\00:10:30.34 I remember taking care of some people in the hospital and 00:10:30.37\00:10:33.47 I told them that their relative was incontinent. 00:10:33.50\00:10:37.13 And they said, "Do you have a map so we can find out 00:10:37.16\00:10:39.55 where continents is?" 00:10:39.58\00:10:40.62 What does incontinence mean? 00:10:40.65\00:10:43.43 That means a person has lost control voluntarily of their 00:10:43.46\00:10:49.50 bladder or of their bowel. 00:10:49.53\00:10:52.33 So, swallowing, bowel, and bladder problems. 00:10:52.36\00:10:56.20 Are there any other problems? 00:10:56.23\00:10:57.20 Yes. 00:10:57.21\00:10:58.36 We want to make sure that the skin is protected 00:10:58.39\00:11:03.06 during this time. 00:11:03.09\00:11:04.90 If, for example, they have problems with bowel bladder 00:11:04.93\00:11:08.57 continence that may mean, or control, there is some 00:11:08.60\00:11:15.52 fluid around their skin in the hip area and they may develop 00:11:15.55\00:11:21.64 skin breakdown. 00:11:21.67\00:11:22.74 So we want to look at that and it will need meticulous 00:11:22.77\00:11:26.20 nursing care to make sure that those problems 00:11:26.23\00:11:29.55 are being addressed. 00:11:29.58\00:11:31.07 Ok, so we've got swallowing, bowel and bladder, the hazards 00:11:31.10\00:11:37.34 of being immobilized, anything else? 00:11:37.37\00:11:39.52 Yes. 00:11:39.55\00:11:40.76 As we move on from some of the acute problems then we 00:11:40.79\00:11:48.60 have to move into the chronic kinds of problems that a 00:11:48.63\00:11:55.00 patient has. 00:11:55.03\00:11:56.82 Here we are going to need a full, comprehensive rehab 00:11:56.85\00:12:04.09 program because if a person has some visual deficits 00:12:04.12\00:12:09.89 they may not be able to see how they're putting their 00:12:09.92\00:12:13.95 clothes on. 00:12:13.98\00:12:15.01 They will put their clothes on backward or they'll put one 00:12:15.04\00:12:19.21 side of their shirt on and not another side of the shirt. 00:12:19.24\00:12:22.91 And yet they will think they are dressed. 00:12:22.94\00:12:24.82 One of the very interesting aspects of stroke is if a person 00:12:24.85\00:12:33.32 has lost the realization they have, let's say a left side, 00:12:33.35\00:12:38.68 we call that left sided neglect, now that doesn't mean they're 00:12:38.71\00:12:42.32 being neglectful of their left side, but what it does mean 00:12:42.35\00:12:46.38 is that they are not aware of their left side. 00:12:46.41\00:12:49.61 You'll ask them, "Does your left side work?" 00:12:49.64\00:12:54.12 and they will say, "Yes," but they can't move their left side. 00:12:54.15\00:12:56.11 If you have them draw a picture of themselves they'll draw half 00:12:56.14\00:13:00.00 a picture and they will think it's the whole picture. 00:13:00.03\00:13:01.54 Because it may not only involve the left side in sensation 00:13:01.57\00:13:06.93 on the left side and motor control on the left side 00:13:06.96\00:13:09.39 but it may involve visual on the left side. 00:13:09.42\00:13:13.48 Here it's very fascinating because it's not the left 00:13:13.51\00:13:17.99 eye that doesn't see, it's not the right eye that doesn't see, 00:13:18.02\00:13:22.59 but it's both eyes - just the way it's wired - may not see 00:13:22.62\00:13:27.99 to the left and yet they are not aware that they don't see. 00:13:28.02\00:13:33.04 So we've got swallowing disorders, bowel and bladder 00:13:33.07\00:13:38.36 problems, problems with the extremities, visual problems, 00:13:38.39\00:13:41.68 and there are probably some more problems. 00:13:41.71\00:13:43.94 We've been talking with Dr. Mills from Wichita, Kansas 00:13:43.97\00:13:47.27 about strokes. 00:13:47.30\00:13:48.27 He's been talking about what happens when we have a stroke. 00:13:48.28\00:13:51.05 When we come back we're going to talk a little bit more about 00:13:51.08\00:13:54.77 some of the problems, but then we're going to talk 00:13:54.80\00:13:56.68 about the solutions. 00:13:56.71\00:13:58.12 We hope that you will join us. 00:13:58.15\00:13:59.45 Have you found yourself wishing that you could 00:14:12.06\00:14:13.98 shed a few pounds? 00:14:14.01\00:14:14.98 Have you been on a diet for most of your life, 00:14:14.99\00:14:17.55 but not found anything that will really keep the weight off? 00:14:17.58\00:14:20.41 If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then we 00:14:20.44\00:14:24.06 have a solution for you that works. 00:14:24.09\00:14:26.18 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington 00:14:26.21\00:14:29.09 have written a marvelous booklet called, 00:14:29.12\00:14:31.32 Reversing Obesity Naturally, and we'd like to send it to you 00:14:31.35\00:14:34.78 free of charge. 00:14:34.81\00:14:36.14 Here's a medically sound approach successfully used 00:14:36.17\00:14:38.96 by thousands who are able to eat more 00:14:38.99\00:14:41.34 and loose weight permanently 00:14:41.37\00:14:42.97 without feeling guilty or hungry through lifestyle medicine. 00:14:43.00\00:14:46.45 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN 00:14:46.48\00:14:50.18 and in this booklet they present a sensible approach to eating, 00:14:50.21\00:14:53.74 nutrition, and lifestyle changes that can help you prevent 00:14:53.77\00:14:56.94 heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. 00:14:56.97\00:14:59.58 Call or write today for your free copy: 00:14:59.61\00:15:02.35 Welcome back. 00:15:23.17\00:15:25.24 We've been talking with Dr. Phillip Mills from 00:15:25.27\00:15:28.05 Wichita, Kansas. 00:15:28.08\00:15:29.77 He's a specialist in physical medicine. 00:15:29.80\00:15:32.19 That's taking care of people who have had strokes. 00:15:32.22\00:15:34.12 Perhaps you've had a stroke or know someone that has. 00:15:34.15\00:15:36.77 We're happy you're with us if you're just joining us. 00:15:36.80\00:15:39.31 Is there hope for those that have had strokes? 00:15:39.34\00:15:41.70 Yes, as a matter of fact the person who has had a stroke 00:15:41.73\00:15:46.21 has very good odds for doing certain things. 00:15:46.24\00:15:49.77 Virtually all of the stroke patients, somewhere between 00:15:49.80\00:15:54.93 80-95 percent of people with appropriate rehabilitation 00:15:54.96\00:15:58.65 will be able to walk. 00:15:58.68\00:16:00.50 Many of them, the majority, will be completely independent again. 00:16:00.53\00:16:08.33 Now some of those that walk will be assisted with 00:16:08.36\00:16:13.83 physical therapy learning how to have appropriate canes or 00:16:13.86\00:16:21.20 perhaps even a walker in some cases, but the vast majority 00:16:21.23\00:16:28.96 will be able to walk again. 00:16:28.99\00:16:31.01 The stroke generally will not leave a person dependent 00:16:31.04\00:16:39.53 but with appropriate vigorous rehabilitation typically they 00:16:39.56\00:16:44.83 can become independent. 00:16:44.86\00:16:46.51 Can they see again? 00:16:46.54\00:16:47.51 We've talked about visual problems before, those blind 00:16:47.52\00:16:51.12 spots ever go away? 00:16:51.15\00:16:53.77 Not all stroke patients, obviously, have problems with 00:16:53.80\00:16:57.34 blindness in a portion of the eye. 00:16:57.37\00:17:00.85 Those that do that is a problem if it doesn't come back because 00:17:00.88\00:17:05.10 if a person doesn't see, let's say they don't see in the left 00:17:05.13\00:17:09.05 part of their visual field and that's on both sides the left 00:17:09.08\00:17:14.36 part is absent, if that doesn't come back obviously they 00:17:14.39\00:17:20.41 couldn't drive safely. 00:17:20.44\00:17:22.25 And in fact they may not be able to read 00:17:22.28\00:17:28.26 without some retraining. 00:17:28.29\00:17:29.61 From a rehab standpoint you begin to try to teach them 00:17:29.64\00:17:33.30 that they have lost the vision in that portion of their body. 00:17:33.33\00:17:38.68 There are various techniques that we use. 00:17:38.71\00:17:40.84 It does remind me how often we think we see and we 00:17:40.87\00:17:45.85 ourselves may have some blind spots and they might be big 00:17:45.88\00:17:49.02 blind spots. 00:17:49.05\00:17:50.02 In the case of a patient, he has to learn to depend on 00:17:50.03\00:17:53.87 someone else to tell him that he has this blind area. 00:17:53.90\00:17:59.58 Then they learn to compensate for it by moving their neck 00:17:59.61\00:18:05.02 and if possible moving their eyes and scanning into 00:18:05.05\00:18:08.20 that area of blindness. 00:18:08.23\00:18:09.58 You're a pastor, you would appreciate this, when I see 00:18:09.61\00:18:12.99 patients like that it reminds me of my spiritual blind spots 00:18:13.02\00:18:16.89 and the importance of I have to rely on God to keep me looking 00:18:16.92\00:18:23.23 in those areas that I would miss otherwise. 00:18:23.26\00:18:25.87 You mentioned some other things that trouble people 00:18:25.90\00:18:31.86 that had strokes. 00:18:31.89\00:18:32.86 You mentioned the bowel and the bladder and different things. 00:18:32.87\00:18:35.51 You've told us that they can start walking again. 00:18:35.54\00:18:38.54 But what about those things that are very troubling. 00:18:38.57\00:18:42.06 You normally can control your bowels and bladder but then 00:18:42.09\00:18:45.49 you loose that control. 00:18:45.52\00:18:46.49 Is there hope there? 00:18:46.50\00:18:47.65 Yes. 00:18:47.68\00:18:48.65 There are special exercises and some retraining that's done in 00:18:48.66\00:18:52.47 rehab centers. 00:18:52.50\00:18:53.47 And again, we are not always successful but often can be 00:18:53.50\00:18:56.64 successful and those are some major areas of emphasis 00:18:56.67\00:19:00.79 in rehabilitation. 00:19:00.82\00:19:02.16 Now in the area of the weakness of an arm or a leg, it's very 00:19:02.19\00:19:08.48 interesting if you look at how the brain is anatomically 00:19:08.51\00:19:14.34 made so that the leg has less area in the brain then the 00:19:14.37\00:19:22.52 arm. 00:19:22.55\00:19:23.52 I used to wonder how come elephants aren't 00:19:23.54\00:19:27.05 smarter than humans because their brain is so much bigger. 00:19:27.08\00:19:30.53 Good question. 00:19:30.56\00:19:31.53 Their brain isn't big in the area of thinking. 00:19:31.54\00:19:37.21 It's big in the area of controlling their trunk. 00:19:37.24\00:19:39.75 The nose. 00:19:39.78\00:19:41.94 So all of that goes into the thousands of muscles and 00:19:41.97\00:19:46.37 movements of the trunk of the elephant. 00:19:46.41\00:19:49.17 Well, the area that makes us humans, this forepart of our 00:19:49.20\00:19:54.71 brain, the front of our brain, that is larger 00:19:54.74\00:19:58.70 in humans than any other animal. 00:19:58.73\00:20:00.65 Now the representation in the brain for the leg is much 00:20:00.68\00:20:03.99 smaller than the arm or the thumb. 00:20:04.02\00:20:08.68 I like to tell the women that in the brain the women have a 00:20:08.71\00:20:15.67 great big area for the tongue - it's also true 00:20:15.70\00:20:18.56 for the men as well! - laughter - 00:20:18.59\00:20:21.57 But, of course, the bigger the area of the brain the more apt 00:20:21.60\00:20:28.09 it is to be affected if you have a stroke. 00:20:28.12\00:20:32.20 For example if you have a big target you're more apt to 00:20:32.23\00:20:36.35 hit it than if it's a small target. 00:20:36.38\00:20:38.56 That means that the arms which have relatively large area 00:20:38.59\00:20:43.47 in the brain are more apt to be affected by a stroke 00:20:43.50\00:20:46.53 and more apt to have long term effects from a stroke 00:20:46.56\00:20:50.67 then the leg. 00:20:50.70\00:20:51.90 So the patients that have had a significant stroke are very 00:20:51.93\00:20:56.02 seldom happy with the residual of the arm but they may be 00:20:56.06\00:21:00.11 satisfied with the way their legs work. 00:21:00.15\00:21:04.05 So the 85% that will walk again they're happy with the fact 00:21:04.09\00:21:07.91 that they're walking and like that but in using their arms 00:21:07.95\00:21:11.59 they don't have that fine ability that they used to have 00:21:11.63\00:21:15.24 or they don't sense that they do. 00:21:15.28\00:21:16.32 Yes. 00:21:16.36\00:21:17.33 Now when you look at how a stroke begins to recover 00:21:17.34\00:21:19.75 it's very interesting because early on a stroke may have a 00:21:19.79\00:21:24.75 problem with what we call flaccidity. 00:21:24.79\00:21:31.68 Flaccidity is the hand and arm or leg 00:21:31.71\00:21:38.57 just are completely relaxed. 00:21:38.60\00:21:41.24 Now that's a problem with the shoulder because the arm 00:21:41.27\00:21:45.34 is attached to the body by muscles and if I have no muscle 00:21:45.37\00:21:53.56 the arm just falls down. 00:21:53.59\00:21:55.85 Gravity pulls it down. 00:21:55.88\00:21:56.92 If you examine a patient you can stick your fingers in their 00:21:56.95\00:22:02.16 shoulder joint and you can feel a finger-breadth of space 00:22:02.19\00:22:06.18 there. 00:22:06.21\00:22:07.18 If that isn't properly treated over time, over maybe a year, 00:22:07.19\00:22:11.38 I've seen it drop down an inch and it just keeps getting longer 00:22:11.41\00:22:14.36 and longer. 00:22:14.39\00:22:15.36 The arm pulls farther and farther away from the body. 00:22:15.37\00:22:19.68 So it's very important that they have the proper treatment 00:22:19.71\00:22:24.59 to keep that arm up or you can develop some long-term 00:22:24.62\00:22:28.12 problems with what we call the supluxation there. 00:22:28.15\00:22:34.49 The shoulder is moving away out of the socket. 00:22:34.52\00:22:38.39 Now as the stroke begins to change, to heal, generally this 00:22:38.42\00:22:47.41 flaccid portion becomes spasticity and so it begins 00:22:47.44\00:22:51.65 to get tight. 00:22:51.68\00:22:52.65 And in the spastic portion we begin to have problems with 00:22:52.66\00:22:56.46 the muscles being tight and the joints then 00:22:56.49\00:23:00.33 getting contractured. 00:23:00.36\00:23:01.97 If that is improperly treated you may have difficulty in 00:23:02.00\00:23:07.75 hygiene - washing between the fingers, washing in the elbows, 00:23:07.78\00:23:11.98 washing underneath the arms, washing in the knees, the toes, 00:23:12.01\00:23:17.71 those sorts of problems. 00:23:17.74\00:23:20.50 So we want to make sure in a rehab setting that we get proper 00:23:20.53\00:23:26.58 range of motion techniques and ways to relax, if possible, 00:23:26.61\00:23:31.84 or at least keep the joints from freezing up. 00:23:31.87\00:23:37.54 Let me ask this question and see if I'm on to anything here. 00:23:37.57\00:23:43.40 If the problem is that some part of the brain has been damaged 00:23:43.43\00:23:47.84 through not having enough oxygen and you're just moving the arm 00:23:47.87\00:23:51.54 and different things, does that really help? 00:23:51.57\00:23:52.90 Well, we have patients that will come to me and they've had 00:23:52.93\00:23:56.30 a severe stroke and the family is very concerned about it. 00:23:56.33\00:23:59.48 It might be 2 or 3 years before and they still can't move 00:23:59.51\00:24:03.72 their arm. 00:24:03.75\00:24:04.90 So they'll want to have some sort of exercise program so 00:24:04.93\00:24:09.02 that the arm will move again. 00:24:09.05\00:24:10.51 But the problem is not in the arm. 00:24:10.54\00:24:13.22 The problem is in the brain that controls the arm. 00:24:13.25\00:24:18.42 If a person is moving the arm all day it will help the joints 00:24:18.45\00:24:24.99 but it's not going to bring back the brain. 00:24:25.02\00:24:28.40 It reminds me of people who are trying to work their way 00:24:28.43\00:24:31.96 into heaven. 00:24:31.99\00:24:32.96 The problem is not the works they do. 00:24:32.97\00:24:35.88 The problem is the heart that motivates the works. 00:24:35.91\00:24:39.91 Until we have the healing in the heart we'll never have the 00:24:39.94\00:24:45.15 proper works. 00:24:45.18\00:24:47.17 So likewise, unless the nerves in the brain is healed, all 00:24:47.20\00:24:51.85 of the movement down here at the arm is not going to 00:24:51.88\00:24:55.73 change the arm. 00:24:55.76\00:24:56.95 Now there are some things that can be helpful. 00:24:56.98\00:24:59.13 Some studies have shown some bio feedback techniques can be 00:24:59.16\00:25:03.57 useful in the hand in developing different pathways of movement. 00:25:03.60\00:25:09.88 But that is some limited types of treatments. 00:25:09.91\00:25:14.05 So there is hope. 00:25:14.08\00:25:15.86 I want to ask a question. 00:25:15.89\00:25:17.08 We've got about 2.5 minutes left here and I want to touch 00:25:17.11\00:25:20.18 on two things. 00:25:20.21\00:25:21.18 One is, can we really damage someone by helping 00:25:21.19\00:25:25.65 them too much if they've had a stroke? 00:25:25.68\00:25:27.45 Number two, what about all the psychological pain and anxiety 00:25:27.48\00:25:32.41 that comes with a stroke, what would you say about that? 00:25:32.44\00:25:35.63 But first of all, can we help someone too much? 00:25:35.66\00:25:37.46 Yes, well you can't help them too much but you can help 00:25:37.49\00:25:41.32 them and not help them. 00:25:41.35\00:25:43.80 You can help them best by allowing them to do for 00:25:43.83\00:25:48.37 themselves what they're capable of doing for themselves. 00:25:48.40\00:25:51.68 We can damage people by doing too much for them. 00:25:51.71\00:25:54.58 One of the problems that sometimes we'll have in a rehab 00:25:54.61\00:25:58.40 setting, is the family wants to feed the patient, the family 00:25:58.44\00:26:01.77 wants to dress the patient, the family want to do everything 00:26:01.80\00:26:05.09 for the patient. 00:26:05.13\00:26:06.10 In fact, part of the process of recovery from a stroke is 00:26:06.11\00:26:12.56 learning to do for yourself feeding, dressing, and moving 00:26:12.60\00:26:19.19 around. 00:26:19.22\00:26:20.19 God does a rehab program for us and He is very careful 00:26:20.20\00:26:25.59 in giving us opportunities to do what we can do 00:26:25.63\00:26:33.13 as part of the recovery process from our spiritual stroke 00:26:33.16\00:26:38.73 shall we say. 00:26:38.77\00:26:39.74 So I suppose if someone has had a relative they should 00:26:39.75\00:26:41.74 they should really counsel with a specialist like yourself 00:26:41.77\00:26:44.09 and ask, "Is this helpful or not?" 00:26:44.12\00:26:46.02 Let's go to that second question. 00:26:46.05\00:26:47.87 You've seen probably thousands of strokes. 00:26:47.91\00:26:50.88 Is there ever any good news that comes from a stroke? 00:26:50.92\00:26:54.22 Along with that how can people deal with the real 00:26:54.26\00:26:57.50 anxiety which is a big life change, what would you say 00:26:57.53\00:26:59.89 about that? 00:26:59.92\00:27:00.89 One of the problems that strokes cause is depression. 00:27:00.90\00:27:05.14 Whenever we have a loss of function, we become depressed 00:27:05.17\00:27:09.26 typically and I wouldn't say that a stroke is a good thing, 00:27:09.30\00:27:15.11 but even a stroke can be part of a process that can result in 00:27:15.14\00:27:20.92 good to us. 00:27:20.96\00:27:22.67 All things work together for good to those that love God. 00:27:22.70\00:27:26.24 The patients that I have, that have had strokes, 00:27:26.27\00:27:31.99 that know the Lord are happy 00:27:32.02\00:27:35.78 even in the midst of this loss. 00:27:35.82\00:27:39.54 It's amazing. 00:27:39.58\00:27:40.59 They'll come in and tell the blessings that God has given 00:27:40.62\00:27:43.65 them in sustaining them through their problems. 00:27:43.69\00:27:47.35 Thank you so much for being with us, Dr. Mills. 00:27:47.38\00:27:50.97 We hope that you have found blessing to the program today 00:27:51.01\00:27:54.57 and that as a result you or someone you love will have 00:27:54.61\00:27:58.14 health that lasts for a lifetime. 00:27:58.18\00:28:00.21