Apoplexy is a term sometimes used to describe stroke-related symptoms that develop rapidly. In many cases, a stroke results in some form of paralysis or other limitations in your normal body movements. You can potentially recover from stroke- or apoplexy-related paralysis with the help of an appropriate course of physical rehabilitation.
Understanding Apoplexy
In medical terms, apoplexy refers to any bleeding that occurs inside an organ, or lack of blood flow to an affected organ, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. When applied to people experiencing a stroke, it refers to the rapid appearance of stroke symptoms related to either bleeding in your brain or a clot in one of the blood vessels that provide your brain's blood supply. One of the most common symptoms or after-effects of a stroke is paralysis triggered by damage to portions of your brain tissue.
Rehabilitation Basics
Rehabilitation helps you recover from a stroke's paralyzing effects by showing you how to adapt to brain damage and learn a new way to perform old skills, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS, says. If a stroke leaves you with a permanent movement disability, rehabilitation can also help you adjust to your daily living routine and find new ways to perform your everyday tasks. Typically, you will start your recovery as soon as possible after your doctors stabilize your vital signs following a stroke. In many cases, stabilization makes rehabilitation possible within one to two days after a stroke occurs.
Repetitive Exercise
During rehabilitation for paralysis, your doctor and physical therapist will typically rely heavily on the repeated performance of a course of therapeutic exercises, NINDS says. This repeated activity encourages your brain to learn new pathways and reduce any disabilities in your affected limbs. Usually, your therapist will teach you a series of isolated movements, then ask you to switch back and forth between these movements. He will also have you practice the performance of complex activities that require more than one type of movement, including using stairs or negotiating common household obstacles.
Considerations and Additional Methods
In addition to range-of-motion, endurance and strength exercises, your physical therapist may encourage your recovery process with methods that include stroking or tapping of your affected limbs or a temporary restraint of your unaffected limbs that forces you to relearn old movements. He may also use a technique called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, which uses electrical current to encourage nerve response in your paralyzed limbs. Depending on the extent of your stroke-related brain damage, you may undergo rehabilitation in a variety of settings, including a rehabilitation wing of a general hospital, a specialized rehabilitation hospital, a long-term care facility or at home. Consult your doctor and physical therapist to learn more about the potential course of your rehabilitation from stroke- or apoplexy-related paralysis.
