Stroke Tips and Update

Stroke can be devastating to a person and their family. Following are a few tips that have been very helpful to our patients.

• Learn all you can about stroke and share this knowledge with others.
  
• Smile and laugh. Humor is healing. Refuse to take life too seriously.
  
• Accept help and delegate responsibilities (especially when they offer help.)
  
• Have patience with yourself; recovery is a lifelong process.
  
• Have patience with others and their limited understanding of stroke.
  
• Decrease stress; use relaxation and breathing techniques.
  
• There is a fine line between trying too hard and becoming frustrated, and not trying hard enough and becoming too dependent on your caregivers.
  
• Depression, if left untreated, can greatly affect your progress, your relationship with others, and your life. Get help.
  
• Take advantage of all the therapy you can get and when it’s finished, continue your home exercise programs.
  
• Use and strengthen your spirituality and faith.
  

Stroke Update: Although many believe stroke patients show maximum recovery within six months, new research shows that stroke patients can continue to improve functionally several years after a stroke. This is based on the brain’s plasticity, and the ability to rebuild itself and learn new tasks. Physical therapists that utilize a technique called neuro-rehabilitation have seen marked improvements in function. (We have seen this too!!) This technique is based on performing repetitive and challenging activities.