Carolee Winstein, PHD - Be Your Best Advocate—Four Ways The New Guidelines Change Stroke Rehab
This post was written by Carolee J. Winstein, PhD, PT, FAPTA, a professor of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and director of the Motor Behavior and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. She wrote to further explain a change in new guidelines on stroke rehab. Learn more at StrokeAssociation.org.
These new guidelines represent a wider focus in the area of post-stroke care. They go beyond just acute care and rehabilitation in the person’s immediate aftermath. These guidelines recognize that your life is not over after a stroke – you will live 10, 20, 30 years or more after a stroke. You can get back to living a life that is of high quality, active, engaged, and doing the things that make you happy and fulfilled.
It takes a village – one that extends far beyond patient and physician, family and friends. So if you or your loved one has sustained a stroke, when it is time to begin rehab, advocate for an inpatient rehab facility over a skilled nursing facility. If you (or your loved one) have the endurance for at least 3 hours of therapy a day, you will benefit from the experienced team – that village -- that will provide a sustained and coordinated effort to optimize your recovery and get you back to the business of living again.
Your team of rehabilitation professionals will aim to ensure that your abilities are aptly assessed, your suitability for discharge to different settings is evaluated and that you will continue to get comprehensive therapy that is adapted to your improvements.
Depending on your specific circumstances, various interventions could improve your health and quality of life and reduce the risk of a second stroke. These include:
These new guidelines represent a wider focus in the area of post-stroke care. They go beyond just acute care and rehabilitation in the person’s immediate aftermath. These guidelines recognize that your life is not over after a stroke – you will live 10, 20, 30 years or more after a stroke. You can get back to living a life that is of high quality, active, engaged, and doing the things that make you happy and fulfilled.
It takes a village – one that extends far beyond patient and physician, family and friends. So if you or your loved one has sustained a stroke, when it is time to begin rehab, advocate for an inpatient rehab facility over a skilled nursing facility. If you (or your loved one) have the endurance for at least 3 hours of therapy a day, you will benefit from the experienced team – that village -- that will provide a sustained and coordinated effort to optimize your recovery and get you back to the business of living again.
Your team of rehabilitation professionals will aim to ensure that your abilities are aptly assessed, your suitability for discharge to different settings is evaluated and that you will continue to get comprehensive therapy that is adapted to your improvements.
Depending on your specific circumstances, various interventions could improve your health and quality of life and reduce the risk of a second stroke. These include:
- Medicine to control your blood pressure and prevent dangerous blood clots
- A formal falls-prevention program and balance education
- Speech therapy to improve communication
- Intense training in walking and mobility activities like managing stairs and curbs
- Exercises to recovery the use and control your arms and hands
- After proper screening, an individually tailored exercise program to you can safely improve your cardiovascular fitness through proper exercises and physical activity after you go home
- Targeted eye interventions and eye exercises if the stroke has caused loss of vision
- Exposure to an enriched environment to enhance your brain activity and thinking skills
- Coaching in strategies to aid your memory