Stroke Rehabilitation:How Physical Therapy Supports Recovery

Nearly 800,000 people experience a stroke in the United States each year. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or ruptured, which results in altered or stopped blood flow to a specific part of the brain. That area of the brain does not receive enough oxygen, which causes damage or death of brain cells; this negatively affects the functions of the body that area of the brain controls.

While a stroke can occur to anyone of any age, sex, or race, two-thirds of those who suffer a stroke are over 65 and more women than men suffer a stroke each year. A stroke damages the connection between the survivor’s brain and their muscles, leading to disability and loss of mobility and movement. However, this is not necessarily permanent. 

What role does physical therapy plan in stroke recovery?

Physical therapy plays a pivotal role in recovery from a stroke. It helps a survivor regain movement, decrease disability, improve range of motion and function of affected limbs, relearn basic daily activities, and walk with coordination and balance. It is important to begin rehabilitation early in stroke recovery, even when patients have little to no control over the affected muscles. Rehabilitation in the early stages of recovery helps survivors keep the muscles toned and stimulated, maintaining circulation and preventing stiffness, before they regain voluntary movement and can help the survivor achieve function sooner.

Once the survivor regains function of the affected limb, the physical therapist then helps the patient relearn everyday actions, like moving from the bed to the chair, and coordination skills. The therapist also works with the survivor to retrain the brain to control affected body parts and perform functional tasks, like walking or grasping an object.

What does physical therapy treatment for stroke look like?

At the start of stroke rehabilitation, the physical therapist evaluates the survivor’s condition and develops an individualized treatment plan. The goal of the physical therapist is to help the survivor regain function, improve quality of life, and help the survivor become as independent as possible.

Physical therapy treatment for stroke recovery includes:

• Exercise program to

  • Retain learned skills

  • Rehearse complex movements that require coordination and balance, e.g. walking up stairs

  • Improve gait and balance

• Strategies to compensate for and reduce the effect of any remaining deficits

• Functional electrical stimulation (FES), which helps move muscles that are weak

• Motor imagery and mental practice involves rehearsing movement without performing it to stimulate the part of the brain that controls the movement. This helps strengthen arms, hands, feet, and legs.

• Positioning of affected limbs to reduce muscle pain and stiffness

• Partial body weight support (BWS), which is used to support a survivor as they walk, usually on a treadmill.

• Aquatic therapy, which involves movement in a heated water therapy pool. Aquatic therapy can help a survivor work on balance and walking function with greater ease as water decreases the weight-bearing stress on joints.

At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, it is our aim to provide you with high quality and personalized stroke rehabilitative care throughout the recovery process.