Benefits of Physical Therapy After a Stroke
After a stroke, physical therapy is essential to regain strength, balance, coordination, and muscle control. Each year in the United States, nearly 800,000 people suffer a stroke. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, depriving the brain cells of oxygen. This leads to impairments of abilities that that area of the brain controls, such as motor control, coordination, or speech. Through a targeted and customized exercise program, physical therapists help stroke survivors optimize their function after the stroke, enhance their level of independence, and improve their quality of life.
How A Stroke Affects the Body
A stroke occurs when the blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, which deprives the brain cells of oxygen, resulting in cell death. The obstruction of blood flow to the brain can be caused by a clot traveling into the arteries that supply the brain (an ischemic stroke) or due to a fall or blow to the head (a hemorrhagic stroke). When brain cells die, the abilities that that area of the brain controls, such as memory, speech, motor control, or coordination, are impaired and can lead to disability. The effect of the stroke on the body depends on the size of the brain injury and which brain circuits were damaged.
Common symptoms post-stroke include:
Paralysis, typically on one side of the body
Movement and motor control issues
Posture and balance problems
Sensory disturbances, such as numbness in limb(s) or loss of ability to feel touch or temperature
Incontinence (loss of bladder control)
Memory and language problems
Blurred vision
Behavioral changes
Benefits of Physical Therapy After a Stroke
Following a stroke, physical therapy is essential to help a stroke patient regain strength, coordination, balance, and motor control. A physical therapist addresses physiological impairments that result from a stroke, such as problems with walking or impaired limbs, through a supervised and customized exercise program.
Physical therapy interventions focus on retraining the brain and the body to restore coordination, muscle control, strength, and balance. Though the part of the brain that was damaged by the stroke has impaired the stroke survivor, the cells around the damaged area can adapt their function to take on the jobs of the damaged cells. The physical therapist capitalizes on this process through a targeted program in which the patient rehearses complex movements like climbing stairs that require coordination and balance as well as repetition of certain tasks and motor skills to regain strength and muscle control in affected muscle groups. Physical therapy treatment can include exercise therapy, aquatic therapy, gait and balance training, positioning, early mobilization, and upper limb function training.
Benefits of physical therapy after a stroke include:
Research has shown that stroke survivors that engage in rehabilitation post-stroke recover faster and more effectively than they would otherwise.
Patients gain improved overall strength, mobility, and agility over time through the customized exercise program.
Physical therapy prevents muscle atrophy (muscle weakness and failure) due to impaired limbs, as the therapist helps the patient regain the use of the impaired limb through exercises to stimulate the muscles and rebuild the brain-body connection.
Stroke patients have a better quality of life with improved endurance and physical strength.
Patients are more independent and have an overall improved mood and mindset. They can more easily return to daily life and activities and be less reliant on caregivers.
At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, we understand that a stroke can be a life-altering event in your family and in your life. As physical therapists, we are here to accompany you through your stroke recovery and help you regain movement, function, and the best possible quality of life.
