Treated Conditions
Stroke is the third most common cause of death in Europe. 1.4 million deaths are registered yearly in Europe alone. There are 45,000 new stroke cases every year, and an estimated 500 000 patients living with the after effects of suffering a stroke. / National Stroke League Data / Only an estimated 25% of patients recover without permanent disability, and about 50% of stroke sufferers need therapy. There are an estimated number of 15 000 deaths per year alone in Hungary. [Hungarian Stroke Organization Data (MST)]
Our applied therapy, ARNI: A new and special approach to stroke rehabilitation, which is now internationally recognized and highly successful.
Dr. Tom Balchin– suffered a stroke and became half-paralyzed. His rehabilitation / from which ARNI has sprouted over the last 15 years / has been an innovative combination of self-defense sports, muscle development with weight exercises, as well as psychological and self-management training.
This triple combination now serves as rehabilitation method with clinical proof, for the optimum development of stroke patients to offer sufferers a whole and full life. She learned and perfected this therapy, and brought this method to Hungary. Gabriella Pásztor Physiotherapist
STROKE, by definition is clinical syndrome that leads to permanent damage or death due to a blood supply disorder to the brain generally caused by blood clots, arterial thrombosis cerebral embolization or bleeding of the cornea. Encephalomalacia or commonly referred to as softening of the brain is caused by blockage of blood flow to the brain causing temporary or permanent damage.
Signs and symptoms of a stroke
Symptoms of stroke depend on which areas of the brain are affected. Symptoms may include a noticeable speech disorder, imbalance or movement disorder, loss of sensation, visual disturbance, difficulty swallowing, and respiratory distress. In acute cases a severe headache is common, loss of consciousness and sudden paralysis. Severe strokes may cause immediate death. Stroke signs and symptoms must not be mistaken for symptoms of TIA (transient ischemic attack). TIA generally is the red-flag of a possible stroke, but TIA is reversible with symptoms only lasting a few minutes while signs and effects of a stroke are irreversible.
Stroke occurrence
In Hungary stroke is one of the most common illnesses affecting the population. Its occurrence is growing continuously with more and more men being affected than there are women. While 2% of women under the age of 65 were affected by the disease, every tenth male among men over the age of 65 had a history of stroke. Key Risk Factors:
Hypertension
Diabetes mellitus
Cholesterol increase, increase of blood lipids
Smoking
Consumption of significant amounts of alcohol
The mission of the ARNI method is to guide stroke survivors and to teach the importance of their role in their rehabilitation. The patients’ will, perseverance and attitude are necessary factors in achieving results. The method guides the patients to achieve the recovery goal they set for themselves. The primary focus is on what they want to achieve in the recovery process. The trainer’s task is to see and understand individual goals, and to guide and assist in healing and rehabilitation, therefore, the patient receives a guideline, a strategy to achieve these goals on an individual level.
Stroke prevention
Prevention is the key to eliminating risk factors.
Optimizing blood pressure
Metabolic optimization (blood glucose and blood lipids – cholesterol)
Quitting smoking
Regular exercise
Normalization of body weight
The main goals of ARNI are:
task-specific functional activities / activity and movement of everyday life
general strengthening, muscle strength increase
balance techniques and balance development exercises
functional rehabilitation of upper and lower body
What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive disease of unknown causes. Destroys extrapyramidal brain regions – structures with dopamine neurotransmitters (the Substantia nigra, Locus coeruleus). Parkinson’s disease can occur at any age, but Parkinson’s disease of the elderly of unknown origin (“idiopathic”) is the disease of people over the age of 60 and is quite common. The symptoms of early Parkinson’s in 5 to 10% of cases may be observable between 30 and 40 years of age. Men are more prone to suffer from the disease. In the United States, 1-1.5 million people suffer from “Parkinson’s disease”, and an estimated 16 to 20,000 patients in Hungary.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease The most common classical symptoms of the disease are: Hypo- or bradykinesia (motion sickness), tremor (tiredness), rigid muscles (stiffness caused by muscle tone enhancement) and instability. In addition to the primary symptoms, bradycardia (slow thinking), followed by intellectual decline (dementia) is also commonly observed. Symptoms grow over the years and become more evident. Most of the patients do not develop all the classic symptoms simultaneously. The development of the disease is different in all cases. The most common effect of the disease is severe disability. Symptoms can strengthen or weaken on a daily basis.
How does the ARNI method help Parkinson’s patients? 1. Stabilization of movement, mobilization of limbs. 2. Shows patients how to help themselves to live with the disease, self-taught movement techniques. 3. Stop the downward decline of rehabilitation, and eliminate the self-image of the patients that they have become permanently disabled. Our successful program assists patients to develop their own, effective mobilization self-retraining routine.
Multiple sclerosis
A Multiple sclerosis (SM) is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. In SM, the incorrectly functioning immune system encounters the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve dendrite dissolves it and destroys it. The damage and ultimate destruction of the myelin sheath results in poor or no function, leading to little or no transmission of stimuli.
The occurrence of the disease
The disease in Hungary is estimated to affect 6000-8000 people, and 300 to 500 new cases each year are diagnosed and reported. There are an estimated 2 million SM patients worldwide, and women are more likely to develop the disease than men. Higher occurrence rate falls between the age of 20 and 40 as per statistics.
The cause of the immune system to attack and destroy cells is unknown, there is no cure.
Symptoms of SM, Instability, dizziness, motion coordination disorder, weakness, fatigue, constipation, impotence, concentration disturbances, double vision, muscular stiffness, balance loss, dysmenorrhea, decreased libido, blurred vision, short-term memory impairment or loss, involuntary eye movement, weakness, slow speech.
Disruption of mobility
Symptoms are observed with longer periods of physical activity such as walking. The legs become stiffer, movement slows down, climbing stairs becomes exhausting. Feeling of numbness of the body when resting, standing or walking. Loss of balance. In severe cases the legs become weak and stiff reducing mobility to the minimal or complete loss of mobility.
As SM progresses, the ability of the limbs to voluntarily and freely move declines significantly. This is a direct consequence of the decrease in muscle strength and abnormal muscle tone.
How does ARNI help patients suffering from SM?
1. Assists SM sufferers with strengthening and correcting mobility and to use their limbs more effectively.
2. To show and teach SM patients that they are capable of self-training, self-rejuvenation.
3. Stop the downward decline of rehabilitation, and eliminate the self-image of the patients that they have become permanently disabled.
4. Develop their balance and strength to allow return to everyday life as soon as possible. Patients with this disease receive precise instruction on what they need to do to feel better. Teaches coping mechanisms to accept the illness and to reach a better quality of life.
Our program helps patients in developing their own effective self-rehabilitation routine with the help of our ARNI trainers.
Prevention
In our fast-paced society today, there is a great lack of physical activity. With modern technology, children and adults alike are no longer spending time in the natural environment and with physical activity. In general, more time is spent in front of screens than anything else. Modern households with electrical machines add to living standards, however, reduces the movement of larger muscle groups as all household work has become motorized and requires no physical activity. Making our lives easier with transport vehicles and electrical equipment has taken away from the much-needed physical activity a human body need. The number of diseases associated with the lack of physical activity is on the rise, therefore, abnormal and unknown changes occur in the human body due to metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, skeletal muscle and skeletal disorders. It is well-known that the health of the population is extremely poor world-wide as well. The life expectancy according to statistics is quite low and the mortality rate is very high. We need to find and explore options that serve human health and that which increases physical activity to prevent such diseases from destroying lives. PREVENTION is a combination of aspirations that serve the development and preservation of health, to eliminate damage to one’s health as soon as possible to restore the original condition and to prevent further decline of physical health. Regular medical screenings are necessary and the elimination of habits such as smoking, drugs, excessive alcohol consumption is a must. High blood pressure and diabetes prevention, obesity, stress-free lifestyle, support of mental coordination, focusing on improving movement, improving nutrition.
The importance of prevention has also been a focus in athletics and sports in general. The practice of preventive physical education and the experience of the essence of sport is a key to the development of a healthy body and preservation of physical condition and heath. Physical activity assists with the prevention of psychosomatic illnesses. Physical activity and psychological and spiritual wellbeing go hand-in hand. Preventative activity also requires a healthy self-image, to know and to understand one’s limitations and level of physical stamina, susceptibility to diseases and illnesses, nutrition and diet, and changes to the body due to natural changes, changes in the environment. Society must make health seriously and education must start at an early age.
Within prevention, we distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention, There is no evidence of damage to one’s health.
Secondary prevention The individual has not yet experienced any impairment to his/her health, but the trained specialist can observe and detect early signs of possible diseases linked to obesity, lack of physical activity, correction of posture and assisting spinal and skeletal abnormalities with, for example, swimming.
Tertiary Prevention The phase of a disease. At his stage, the goal of prevention is to halt the process and reverse the condition as much as possible. If reversing of damage is not possible, the goal is to prevent further deterioration to health. Physical activity is a vital addition to people suffering from physical disabilities, impairment to health, and greatly contributes to the psychological well-being of the patient, integration into society and maximizing the patients’ quality of life. Only a shift in focus and conscious changes will make it possible to stop the general deterioration of society’s health, and to increase prevention of such diseases.
Our team is proud to offer a preventative training package!
