Physical Therapy After Stroke Might Help Other Parts of Body

After someone suffers from a stroke, the process of rehabilitation can be a long and painful journey. In fact, because the post-stroke recovery process can be so unpredictable, many individuals who have had a stroke never fully recover. There are a number of factors that contribute to recovery, and initial treatment time after the stroke is one of the biggest ones. However, after the initial treatment, physical therapy is one of the next most important things to consider.

 

As you might know, a stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is momentarily blocked or reduced. This causes brain cells to be harmed, which accounts for the various difficulties and disabilities that a stroke can produce. Physical therapy and rehab attempt to correct these disabilities, and they do so by helping the brain re-learn once simple things. This occurs by teaching the brain different neuronal pathways. Depending on the individual, this process may be relatively easy, or it might be extremely difficult. Strokes can vary widely from person to person, and no two seniors will experience the process in the same way.

 

However, one new study is showing that this process might not be as difficult or tedious as once believed. Arm exercises have been shown to help those who struggle with walking and balance to improve this activity. Although arm activities seem to have nothing to do with legs or balance, it is believed that the new pathways created when patients are working on regaining full usage of their arms can be used to help with legs, too.

 

Stroke recovery is tough. Physical therapy might help.

 

This study was conducted at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. It looked at senior citizens who had suffered from a stroke between 7 months and 17 years in the past. Volunteers did 30 minutes of arm activity three times a week for five weeks. Patients were evaluated with three different measures of walking: a timed 10 meter walk, the distance that patients could walk in six minutes, and a timed up and go, which measures how fast someone can stand up, walk a short distance, turn around, and return. Participants in the study significantly improved in all three of these categories–all without doing any sort of leg exercise. The times for the up and go improved by 28 percent, according to the study.

 

This is a valuable reminder that although physical therapy can be painful and difficult at times, it is not without benefit. If you have a loved one who has had a stroke, it can be a very frustrating time for the whole family. Be encouraged that there is hope. Those who have had a stroke often have new needs, and therapy can help in many cases. In the short term, the supervision of a professional in-home care specialist can help. Hopefully, your parent or grandparent will not need senior care on a permanent basis, but it’s good to have a trained and loving caregiver on your side either way. Stroke recovery can be tough to predict, and having the right team assisting your family through this will go a long way toward helping everyone involved.

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