Dr. Michael Joseph Olek, DO

Facial ticks in children can be due to transient tic disorder, chronic motor tic disorder, Tourette syndrome, hemifacial spasm, blepharospasm, facial dystonia, inherited movement disorders, infections, toxins, trauma, psychiatric disorders and possibly seizures. Most ticks in children are short-lived and resolve on their own in weeks to months. Factors which make symptoms worse are stress, excitement, fatigue, heat, stimulant medications, certain psychiatric disorders. If ticks in children persist, please see a pediatrician or pediatric neurologist.

Michael J. Olek, DO

The most effective treatment for shoulder nerve damage is to determine the cause. If it is due to cervical spine damage then treatment is directed at the spine. If there is rotator cuff damage the conservative treatment first then consider surgery. If arthritis is the cause use medication, physical therapy and possibly joint injections and lastly surgery. If muscle trauma caused the nerve impingement rest and ice then physical therapy. There are other less common causes, but again, the first step is to identify the cause of the shoulder nerve damage.

It is usually a sign of nerve compression, which may lead to nerve damage or a sign of chemical abnormalities such as diabetes and in either case should be investigated by a physician.

Most people receive a local anesthesia for carpal tunnel surgery, but some may require a block of the entire arm. Few require general anesthesia.

There is some evidence that a ketogenic diet may be helpful for adults with epilepsy, but you must be followed closely by a nutritionist and a primary care provider. If you are not on a ketogenic diet, then you should eat 3 balanced meals per day, which you may modify if you have other medical problems. Patients with only well-controlled epilepsy rarely have dizzy spells. I suggest talking to your primary care provider about the dizzy spells.

If your post-stroke pain lasts more than three months, it is most likely chronic and needs to be treated.

Very sorry to hear about your wife. There are many variables in head trauma and I do not have enough information to comment on this particular case. Hopefully they did a head CT and it was normal and they are performing daily neurological exams and monitoring her vitals and medications. 

Depending on the severity of the stroke, most people recover the use of a limb to some degree with proper physical therapy.

Michael J. Olek, DO

Pain in the head can be due to many causes. Trauma causes nerve damage and headache. Infection damages nerves and can cause headache. Tooth pain and/or infection can damage nerves and cause head pain. Sinus disease can damage nerve and cause head pain. For comparison, carpal tunnel syndrome causes median nerve damage but not head pain.Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

After exercise, the muscle may contract and relax causing a feeling of tingling in your back. If the tingling is persistent, then you need to see your primary care physician since it may be related to skin problems or other systemic diseases.

Michael J. Olek, DO

Nerve tingling may go away on its own depending on the cause. At your age, I would see a primary care provider to try to uncover the cause of the tingling.

After prolonged compression of a nerve, such as the median nerve, which travels through the carpal tunnel, this will cause temporary tingling in the thumb and the first two fingers. If the tingling is permanent, there may be a continuous compression that may require surgery. I would suggest seeing your primary care physician and/or a neurologist to further investigate.

Children with missing chromosomes fail to develop certain substances needed for brain cell function and/or brain cells, which cause their specific symptoms.

Initially, numbness in the thumb and first and second digit that worsen with compression, then weakness, then atrophy of the muscle.

Michael J. Olek, DO

The usual rate for remyelination of peripheral nerves is 1 mm/day, assuming that the nerve is still intact. Even with remyelination, the sensation that returns may be altered.

There are several medications and devices and physical therapy for low back pain, but the most important thing would be to find the cause of the pain since you are so young. I would start with your primary care physician and then potentially a pain specialist.

Several things can cause nerve pain in your back. Skin diseases, muscles diseases, joint diseases, bone diseases, disc herniation, peripheral nerve diseases, and spinal cord diseases to name a few. My advice would be to see a general practitioner first to see if it is a common cause of back pain, then consider seeing a neurologist.

Since I am an adult neurologist, the information on autism spectrum disorder below is taken from the Mayo Clinic website:

Autism spectrum disorder is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes limited and repetitive patterns of behavior.

Some children show signs of autism spectrum disorder in early infancy, such as reduced eye contact, lack of response to their name or indifference to caregivers. Other children may develop normally for the first few months or years of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn or aggressive or lose language skills they've already acquired. Signs usually are seen by age 2 years.

Each child with autism spectrum disorder is likely to have a unique pattern of behavior and level of severity — from low functioning to high functioning.

Some children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty learning, and some have signs of lower than normal intelligence. Other children with the disorder have normal to high intelligence — they learn quickly, yet have trouble communicating and applying what they know in everyday life and adjusting to social situations. Because of the unique mixture of symptoms in each child, severity can sometimes be difficult to determine. It's generally based on the level of impairments and how they impact the ability to function. Below are some common signs shown by people who have autism spectrum disorder.

Social communication and interaction

A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have problems with social interaction and communication skills, including any of these signs:

- Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
- Resists cuddling and holding, and seems to prefer playing alone, retreating into his or her own world
- Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression
- Doesn't speak or has delayed speech, or loses previous ability to say words or sentences
- Can't start a conversation or keep one going, or only starts one to make requests or label items
- Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm and may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
- Repeats words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
- Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions
- Doesn't express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others' feelings
- Doesn't point at or bring objects to share interest
- Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
- Has difficulty recognizing nonverbal cues, such as interpreting other people's facial expressions, body postures or tone of voice

Patterns of behavior

A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have limited, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, including any of these signs:

- Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand flapping
- Performs activities that could cause self-harm, such as biting or head-banging
- Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
- Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
- Is fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn't understand the overall purpose or function of the object
- Is unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch, yet may be indifferent to pain or temperature
- Doesn't engage in imitative or make-believe play
- Fixates on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
- Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with a certain texture

As they mature, some children with autism spectrum disorder become more engaged with others and show fewer disturbances in behavior. Some, usually those with the least severe problems, eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. Others, however, continue to have difficulty with language or social skills, and the teen years can bring worse behavioral and emotional problems.

Michael J. Olek, DO

The best treatment for preventing worsening of a bulging disc is stretching exercises, but I would see a physician to have them do an exam and get an image to see if it really is a disc and how much it is bulging. Discs usually worsen over time and if they cause weakness, surgery is recommended.

Neuropathic pain really does not get that much worse, you are just not doing anything and it feels worse. If the pain is caused by a bulging disc, then using the disc during the day causes inflammation and pain worse at night.