In Canada, 9 out of 10 residents are at risk of suffering from a stroke and heart problems. Stroke is the third leading cause of death. If you suffer from a stroke, it can take you three to six months to make a full recovery. Stroke rehabilitation can help you recover quicker.
What Is A Stroke?
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to your brain cells becomes disrupted due to brain blood vessel blockage or a rupture. This deprives your brain cells from oxygen and nutrients and causes them to disintegrate. As your brain cells die, you will lose function of your body. Stroke symptoms include confusion, difficulty speaking, vision loss or difficulty, headache, or loss of coordination or balance. Symptoms or subsequent complications of stroke can persist and go on to impact the quality of your life.
What Are The Causes Of Stroke?
There are many factors that can cause a stroke, so it is difficult to narrow it down to any one cause or reason. Lifestyle and medical risk factors like obesity, inadequate physical activity, consumption of alcohol or drugs, high blood pressure and diabetes, etc. will increase your chances of suffering from a stroke. Individuals who are older, aged 55 and up, are at higher risk and those who have a family history of stroke.
Rehabilitation After A Stroke
If your stroke affects the area of your brain that controls your muscle movement, you might experience muscle spasms, imbalance, or joint pain. Stroke rehabilitation is designed to help stroke sufferers relearn the skills lost when the stroke damaged their brain. Regular physiotherapy will help patients gain mobility and manage pain. This will help overall health and confidence in the patient. The ultimate goal with stroke rehabilitation is to help patients regain their independence and quality of life.
Every individual will be affected differently by a stroke. Stroke complications vary from person to person, and therefore, so does recovery. But with enough time and work put in, our nervous systems are very adaptive when it comes to relearning everyday activities. Repetitive practice is the backbone of effective rehabilitation. Rehabilitation starts in the hospital right after stroke and is continued after a patient’s release until they become as independent as possible. This must be done while preserving the patient’s dignity and motivated them to commit to relearning basic skills they may have lost due to the stroke.
Core Physical Care in Toronto offers a number of services, including in-home massage therapy and in-home physiotherapy, so if you want your recovery to be fast and effective, give our physiotherapy clinic a call today!