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Stroke Rehabilitation

The focus of an individualized stroke rehabilitation program is to help relearn skills you may have lost, regain independence, and maximize your quality of life.

The severity of stroke complications varies widely from person to person, but research has found that people who participate in a focused stroke rehabilitation program perform better than those who don’t.

Who helps with your stroke care?

Our team will work with you to develop a rehabilitation program that focuses on helping you regain your independence and reach your goals.

  • Physical Therapists: These professionals focus on improving your mobility whether that is getting in and out of bed more efficiently, walking without an assistive device, or retraining your body to be able to cast a line or pull a bow.

  • Occupational Therapists: These professionals focus on helping you increase independence with completing skills such as bathing, dressing, or any other activity you complete throughout your day. They can also address cognitive issues and safety within your home.

  • Speech-Language Pathologists: These professionals focus on improving your ability to communicate, assist with swallowing issues, and work with you to develop tools to address memory issues.

What's involved with stroke rehabilitation?

  • Stretching/Range of motion Exercises: Certain exercises and treatments can ease muscle tension (tone and spasticity) and allow you to move your limbs throughout a greater range of motion.

  • Motor-Control Exercises: These exercises help improve your coordination and muscle strength so that you can move your body in the most efficient way.

  • Mobility Training: Training will focus on getting you moving as independently and efficiently as possible. Whether the focus is on getting in and out of bed without help, getting around in a wheelchair, walking more efficiently with the use of an assistive device (cane, walker, or crutches), or rolling on the ground with the grandkids.

  • Constraint-Induced Therapy: An unaffected limb is restrained so that your brain must focus on moving the affected limb. This helps to improve its function.

  • Functional Electrical Stimulation: Light electrical current is applied to weakened muscles, causing them to contract. When combined with functional tasks, such as walking, muscular strengthening may occur. Once this happens the electrical stimulation is discontinued, and the body is more efficiently able to contract muscles and move.

  • Virtual reality: The use of video games and other computer technology to get body parts moving more efficiently.

  • Therapy for Communication Disorders: Speech-language pathologists will work to help you regain lost abilities in speaking, listening, writing, and comprehension.

  • Therapy for Swallowing Disorders: Speech-language pathologists will work to identify if the structures that assist with swallowing are impaired, and work to help you improve upon these impairments so that you can get back to eating the foods and consistencies that you like.

  • Therapy for Cognitive Disorders: Speech-language pathologists will work to improve impaired cognitive abilities. They can assist with memory, problem-solving, processing, social skills, judgment, and safety awareness.

For more information or to schedule a free consultation with one of our board-certified clinicians and therapists, please contact us at 406.375.4570.