We often see on TV or in the newspapers that so-and-so has been taking care of his paralyzed wife (husband) for many years as a virtue, and over time, people have the impression that paralysis means being bedridden for a long time and in need of care, which is like a death sentence on a hospital bed. In fact, with the development of modern rehabilitation medicine, most of the paralyzed patients, after regular rehabilitation treatment, can completely get rid of the bad luck of “death row” on the hospital bed, and return to their families, return to society, and improve the quality of life. According to the survey, only 20% of Guangzhou people know that paralysis needs rehabilitation treatment, therefore, it is necessary to promote the rehabilitation treatment of paralysis. I. What is paralysis? What kinds of paralysis are there? Paralysis, also known as “paralysis”, refers to the weakening or loss of a certain part of the body’s random movement. Depending on the severity, it can be divided into complete paralysis and incomplete paralysis. The loss of motor function of one upper or lower limb is called “monoplegia”; the loss of motor function of one upper and lower limb is called “hemiplegia”; the loss of motor function of two lower limbs is called “paraplegia”; and the loss of motor function of two upper and lower limbs is called “paraplegia”. Loss of motor function of both upper and lower extremities is called “quadriplegia”. According to the anatomical location of the lesion, upper motor neuron paresis, lower motor neuron paresis and myopathic paresis can be classified. Upper motor neuron paresis, also known as central paresis, is also known as spastic paresis or rigid paresis because of the increased muscle tone of the paralyzed muscles. It is commonly caused by cranial trauma, brain tumor, inflammation, cerebrovascular disease (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, etc.), poisoning, etc. Lower motor neuron paresis, also called peripheral paresis, is also called flaccid paresis or soft paresis because of the hypotonia of the paralyzed muscles, and is commonly seen in acute polyneuritis, brachial plexus neuritis, radial nerve palsy, etc. Myopathic paralysis can be divided into two categories: paralysis caused by lesions of the muscles themselves is called myogenic paralysis, and paralysis caused by lesions at the nerve and muscle junction is called neuromuscular junction paralysis. It is common in myasthenia gravis, periodic paralysis, myotonic dystrophy, hyperthyroidism myopathy, etc. Why do we need rehabilitation treatment for paralysis? The World Health Organization has divided medicine into four fields: health care medicine, preventive medicine, clinical medicine and rehabilitation medicine, each with different responsibilities, for example, clinical medicine is responsible for treating diseases, while rehabilitation medicine is responsible for functional rehabilitation. The acute treatment of various diseases that cause paralysis is the responsibility of clinical medicine, while the sequelae such as motor dysfunction that remain after the acute phase is the scope of rehabilitation medicine treatment. Therefore, paralysis must be treated with rehabilitation. Because of the lack of understanding of rehabilitation medicine, paralyzed patients think they have been sentenced to death after the acute treatment in the hospital and become “death row” in the hospital bed. “There is no other way but to be discharged home and wait for death in bed. In fact, according to the information published by the World Health Organization, after rehabilitation, about 60% of paralyzed patients can take care of their daily activities at the end of the first year, 20% need some help, 15% need more help, and only 5% need all the help; and 30% of patients of working age can return to work at the end of one year after the disease. Therefore, as long as the correct rehabilitation treatment is carried out, it is entirely possible to improve the ability to take care of oneself, return to the family and return to society. How is the rehabilitation of paralysis carried out in developed countries in Europe and America? In the developed countries of rehabilitation medicine in Europe and America, especially the United States and Canada, a three-level rehabilitation system for paralysis has been established. First-level rehabilitation: generally for the acute phase, in the clinical treatment department, mainly for clinical treatment, supplemented by rehabilitation, to prevent the occurrence of secondary complications. Secondary rehabilitation: generally for the recovery period, carried out in the rehabilitation department, with rehabilitation therapy as the main treatment, supplemented by clinical therapy. The task of rehabilitation treatment is to improve patients’ limb movement function and daily living ability, such as standing and balance training, transfer training, walking ability training and self-feeding, toileting, bathing, grooming and washing, communication ability and other training. Most of the patients can take care of themselves and return to their families after this training. The main task is to consolidate the achieved rehabilitation effect and further improve the motor function, communication function and daily living ability. In order to be in line with the international level of paralysis rehabilitation, we are taking action. In order to be in line with the developed level of rehabilitation medicine in Europe and the United States, the Hospital of Integrative Medicine of Southern Medical University has established a Traditional Therapy and Rehabilitation Center with a complete range of rehabilitation programs, including traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation programs and modern rehabilitation programs. The modern rehabilitation programs include physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and speech therapy (ST), etc. Relying on the national key disciplines of integrated Chinese and Western medicine clinical and national key specialties of acupuncture, moxibustion and massage, the technical strength is strong, with 8 professors, chief physicians and doctoral supervisors, 10 associate professors and associate chief physicians, including 14 with medical doctorate. We have established a three-level rehabilitation system for paralysis, which can fully meet the needs of paralysis patients’ rehabilitation. VI. Advantages of our rehabilitation treatment Advantage 1 Combination of traditional and modern, and combination of treating symptoms and treating the root cause. The center uses modern rehabilitation technology to treat the symptoms and signs of the disease body, which is to treat the symptoms, and traditional Chinese medicine to treat the root cause of the disease, which is to treat the root cause of the disease, combining the two medical systems of traditional Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine, with complementary advantages and treating both the symptoms and the root cause, which is equivalent to putting a double insurance on the rehabilitation, which not only improves the efficacy of rehabilitation than traditional Chinese medicine or modern Western medicine alone, but also maximizes the clinical efficacy. Moreover, it can prevent the recurrence of the disease. Advantage 2: Holistic rehabilitation, comprehensive rehabilitation and full rehabilitation. Holistic rehabilitation means that the center will rehabilitate all the internal organs, meridians and acupoints of patients, not only the diseased and abnormal functioning internal organs, meridians and acupoints, but also the non-diseased and normal functioning or potentially diseased and abnormal functioning internal organs, meridians and acupoints, so as to avoid “treating the head when it hurts and treating the foot when it hurts”. Comprehensive rehabilitation means that the center should not only rehabilitate patients’ physical functions, but also psychological, life, social and occupational functions. Comprehensive rehabilitation refers to rehabilitation in the early stage of dysfunction, the recovery period and the sequelae period. By focusing on overall, comprehensive and total rehabilitation, a large number of patients have been able to return to a healthy and happy life.