Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy
What is stroke rehabilitation?
After hospitalization for stroke, many patients still have problems with physical, speech, and mental functions. Rehabilitation for these problems can be provided in a variety of settings. Rehabilitation programs are critical in helping patients regain lost skills, relearn tasks, and work to be independent again.
In many cases, there is great potential for the brain to recover. With diligent rehabilitation, these prospects can get even better. Even if major neurological deficits do not improve, the patient’s functioning can improve as they learn ways to compensate for their problems.
Important Factors of Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy:
- The extent of the brain injury. The less severe the injury, the better the chances for recovery.
- The stroke survivor’s attitude. A survivor’s positive attitude can help him or her cope with difficult times and focus on getting better.
- Family support. A stroke survivor’s family can be the most important form of support during rehabilitation. Family members can reassure stroke survivors that they’re wanted, needed, and still important to the family.
- Time until the start of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation must begin as soon after the stroke as possible. Even simple tasks such as exercising paralyzed muscles and turning the person in bed should begin very soon after the stroke. Stroke rehabilitation is most successful when it is a team effort. The stroke survivor and his or her family must work together with the doctor, nurse, and other rehabilitation specialists.
Choices For Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy?
- Acute rehabilitation: Three or more hours of therapy are provided five days a week, and sometimes over the weekend. Doctors may visit the patient five or more days a week. Patients at this level of care must demonstrate the ability to tolerate and benefit from intensive exercise and training.
- Subacute or skilled nursing rehabilitation: In this type of rehabilitation, one or two hours of a rehabilitation treatment are provided five days a week. Patients in this setting are often recovering from difficult medical problems, and are able to tolerate a moderate pace of exercise. Doctors supervise the medical and rehabilitative care and visit the patient as needed, usually three times a week.
- Outpatient rehabilitation: This means that the patient lives at home and travels two or three times a week to a rehabilitation facility for a few hours of treatment. Usually, family members drive patients to their treatments. Therapists can do a lot more in the facility than they can do in the patient’s home.
- Rehabilitation in the home: This kind of rehabilitation usually is for homebound patients with very mild problems and extensive family support. Members of the therapy team come to the home of the patient, usually for 2 or 3 hours of therapy per week. Simple therapy services are provided.
How long does stroke rehabilitation last?
How long you need stroke rehabilitation depends on the severity of your stroke and related complications. Some stroke survivors recover quickly. But most need some form of long-term stroke rehabilitation. This could last for possibly months or years after their stroke.
Your stroke rehabilitation plan will change during your recovery as you relearn skills and your needs change. With ongoing practice, you can continue to make gains over time.
Skills That Can Be Recovered By Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy
The goal of rehabilitation is to improve or restore your speech, cognitive, motor, or sensory skills so that you can be as independent as possible.
- Speech skills: A stroke can cause a language impairment called aphasia. If you’ve been diagnosed with this condition, you may have trouble speaking in general. It’s also common to have a hard time finding the right words or difficulty speaking in full sentences. You may have problems with your speech if the muscles that control speech were damaged. Speech and language therapists can help you learn how to speak coherently and clearly. If the damage is too severe, they can also teach you other ways to communicate.
- Cognitive skills: A stroke can impair your thinking and reasoning abilities, lead to poor judgment, and cause memory problems. It can also cause behavioral changes. You may have once been outgoing, but are now withdrawn, or vice versa. You may also have fewer inhibitions post-stroke and as a result, act recklessly. This is because you no longer understand the potential consequences of your actions. This leads to concerns about safety, so it’s important to work toward recovering these cognitive skills. Occupational therapists and speech and language therapists can help you regain these abilities. They can also help make sure that your home is a safe environment.
- Motor skills: Having a stroke can weaken the muscles on one side of your body and impair joint movement. This in turn affects your coordination and makes it difficult for you to walk and perform other physical activities. You may also experience painful muscle spasms. Physical therapists can help you learn how to balance and strengthen your muscles. They are also able to help you control muscle spasms by teaching you stretching exercises. You may need to use a walking aid as you relearn motor skills.
- Sensory skills: Having a stroke can affect a part of your body’s ability to feel sensory inputs, such as heat, cold, or pressure. Therapists can work with you to help your body adjust to the change.
How Can Simple Hearing and Speech Care Help You?
Simple Hearing and Speech Care is founded by Dr. Survi Dash. She worked along with eminent hospitals and professionals as a certified Sr. Audiologist and Speech Therapist in Pune and PCMC. Dr. Survi has more than 13 years of experience at various organizations in metro cities across India and now in Pune. She has acquired all-around expertise in new advanced techniques of Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy in Pune.
If you are looking for stroke rehabilitation therapy in Pune and the PCMC area Dr. Survi Dash is the right choice for you. You can contact us by booking an online appointment or call us at 7666773596.