Monoplegia

What is monoplegia?

Monoplegia occurs when something, like a stroke or an injury, disrupts the nerve signals to the muscles in your arm or leg. It’s a type of paralysis that affects one arm or leg. Paralysis means you can’t move a part of your body. Monoplegia is sometimes temporary, but it’s often permanent.

A problem with your nervous system causes monoplegia. Your nervous system is your body’s command and communication system. It sends signals from your brain throughout your body, telling it what to do. If something damages your nervous system, messages can’t get through to the muscles in your arm or leg. The message has to go from your brain to your spinal cord, nerve roots, nerves and then your muscles. So, there are a lot of places that monoplegia could come from.

What are the symptoms of monoplegia?

The inability to move one of your arms or legs is the most common symptom of monoplegia. Other symptoms that happen with monoplegia that may affect your arm or leg include:

• Curling of your fingers or toes
• Loss of muscle tone
• Increased muscle tone
• Muscle spasms or stiffness

Symptoms may come on suddenly if you had an injury or experienced a stroke. Symptoms come on gradually if you have a disease like cerebral palsy.

What causes monoplegia?

The most common cause of monoplegia is cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that occurs when the areas of your brain that control muscle movement don’t develop properly or receive damage. This is a condition you’re born with.

Other monoplegia causes may include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Injury to the affected limb
• Infections such as polio
• Strokes and ruptured aneurysms
• Spinal cord or brain infections
• Spinal cord or brain tumors

What are the complications of monoplegia?

Monoplegia can lead to blood clots and other circulatory disorders like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the affected limb. The condition can cause disability. This may affect your mental health, possibly leading to conditions like depression and anxiety.

How doctors diagnose monoplegia

A healthcare provider will perform a physical exam and ask you if you’ve had any recent injuries. They’ll talk to you about when you first started to notice the problem. Your provider may request certain tests, including:

• X-rays
• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
• Electromyogram (EMG)

How is monoplegia treated?

There isn’t a cure for monoplegia, but your provider will do what they can to treat the underlying cause. Treatment mainly focuses on relieving your symptoms and improving your quality of life.

Treatment options may include different kinds of therapy, like:

• Physical therapy. Physical therapy helps improve your strength, flexibility and mobility.
• Occupational therapy. Occupational therapy helps improve your functioning with daily tasks.
• Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, can help you deal with the challenges of living with a disability by identifying and changing unhealthy emotions and behaviors.

In addition to therapy, your provider may recommend assistive devices, like a wheelchair, crutches or a scooter to help you get around.

Depending on your condition, medications like pain relievers and muscle relaxants may help relieve some of your symptoms. If you have spasms or curling up of your limb, botulinum toxin injections can help.

In some cases, your provider may recommend surgery to correct anatomical abnormalities.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

If you have signs of a stroke or a possible head, neck or spine injury, you should call 911 or your local emergency number. Otherwise, call your provider if you have:

• Numbness or tingling in your arms or legs
• Muscle weakness that persists or comes and goes
• A sudden inability to move your muscles

What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

You may want to ask your provider:

• Is monoplegia temporary or permanent?
• How long will it take to get movement back?
• What treatment do you recommend for me?
• What type of therapy or assistive devices can help?
• What signs of complications should I look out for?
• Do you recommend physical therapy or occupational therapy?

What is the outlook (prognosis) for someone with monoplegia?

The outlook for monoplegia depends on the cause and severity. The condition can sometimes improve over time, but many people will have permanent paralysis. Treatment can help reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

What’s the difference between monoplegia and monoparesis?

Monoplegia and monoparesis are similar, but they refer to different types of paralysis. Monoplegia means you have a complete loss of voluntary motor function in your arm or leg. Monoparesis means you’ve only partially lost function in your arm or leg.

What’s the difference between monoplegia and hemiplegia?

Monoplegia refers to paralysis that affects a single limb — one arm or one leg. Hemiplegia is paralysis that affects one entire side of your body (the entire right side of your body or the entire left side of your body). It affects the muscles in your arms, legs and sometimes face.