Health Topic

Paralysis

Paralysis is a loss of muscle function in part of your body, when messages between the brain and muscles are disrupted. Learn about causes and coping.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Hemiplegia · Palsy · Paraplegia · Quadriplegia

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Paralysis

Paralysis is the loss of muscle function in part of your body. It happens when something goes wrong with the way messages pass between your brain and muscles. Paralysis can be complete or partial. It can occur on one or both sides of your body. It can also occur in just one area, or it can be widespread. Paralysis of the lower half of your body, including both legs, is called paraplegia. Paralysis of the arms and legs is quadriplegia.

Most paralysis is due to strokes or injuries such as spinal cord injury or a broken neck. Other causes of paralysis include:

  • Nerve diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barre syndrome
  • Bell's palsy, which affects muscles in the face

Polio used to be a cause of paralysis, but polio no longer occurs in the U.S.

It sits within Brain and Nerves.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Paralysis

3,633 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Genetics

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Paralysis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Paralysis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.