Rehabilitation after a Stroke

Once a person has suffered a stroke, he is first admitted to the hospital and after completion of the required medical procedures in the hospital, the patient is admitted into a rehabilitation center to help him get back to his normal life. Rehabilitation after a stroke is aimed at diminishing brain damage and trying to restore the quality of life to the patient. After a stroke, a patient may experience partial or complete paralysis of part of his body. There are various methods of treating a stroke patient. Rehabilitation after a stroke has been introduced to teach such stroke victims how to continue leading a normal life despite their physical disability. Physiotherapy, interventions, mirror therapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapy are some of the techniques performed as part of stroke rehabilitation program.

Therapeutic techniques used in treating stroke patients:

1. Intervention

   In this particular treatment, the unaffected limb of the patient is tied up and the patient is asked to use his affected arm to perform his activities and specific exercises. In this process, the immobile or paralyzed gains considerable mobility. This method also promotes strengthening of the affected arm and jogs the brain cells, thus repairing part of the damage caused in the course of a stroke.

2. Mirror Therapy

   The technique used in the mirror therapy is illusions. The patient is presented with a digital image of the reflection of his unaffected limb. He is asked to move his affected arm looking at the image under the impression that he is moving his unaffected arm. This is again useful in improving limb functionality and strengthening of the muscle.

3. Hydrotherapy

   In hydrotherapy, the patient is put in a tank full of water and asked to move his limbs in specific ways by the therapist. The buoyancy of the water offers perfect leverage and force to the limbs. Pushing the limbs against the current of water needs a little bit of force. Hence this activity again promotes arm strengthening along with increasing muscle flexibility. This is a branch of physiotherapy.

4. Injections and Surgery

   There are numerous medical treatments for ailments in the 21^st century. Injections and surgery are the very first resorts of treatment in hospitals. If the patient is unable to respond effectively to rehabilitation therapies, he needs to be given injections or undergo surgery to try and eliminate his disability.

5. Physiotherapy

   In this treatment of a stroke, a trained physiotherapist prescribes specific exercises to the patient after analysis, diagnosis and study of patient medical history. According to the physical injury, illness or problem of the patient and the degree of damage, the therapist draws out a treatment discharge. Stroke rehabilitation physiotherapy becomes an important part of a patients life even after he has recovered from stoke.

Rehabilitation after a stroke is a necessary process as a patient cannot be completely cured after surgery or the medical procedures rendered by hospitals. There are myriad stroke rehabilitation centers which offer many different inpatient and outpatient facilities. Each center has a team of trained health professionals which is in charge of looking after the patients and caring for them. Rehabilitation after a stroke is thus an extremely vital process.