Stroke is a major killer in the United States, with the American Heart Association estimating that 137,119 people died of a stroke in 2006 alone. However, many people also survive a stroke, with an estimated 6,400,000 stroke survivors still alive today. Following a stroke, your life may not return to normal. Strokes cut off oxygen to areas of your brain controlling everything from basic movements to speech, which leaves many stroke victims needing regular rehabilitation programs.
Physical Rehabilitation
A stroke often cuts off blood supply to the medulla, or primary motor cortex of your brain. This area of your brain is responsible for your ability to move, which can affect both your movement coordination as well as your overall range of motion. Physical therapy can be used as a stroke rehabilitation method using specialized tools, stretches and pieces of equipment to help rebuild muscles and increase range of motion. This allows rehabilitation to address any issues that limit your usual level of physical activity.
Speech Rehabilitation
A stroke may also affect the temporal and frontal lobes of your brain, which largely controls your ability to speak. Loss of oxygen in these areas can result in difficult forming and vocalizing the proper vowels and consonants needed for speech to sound normal. A speech therapist can help retrain those affected by strokes in basics like tongue placement and lip formations to form a more normal speech pattern. The success of speech therapy partially relies on how long blood was blocked from reaching the temporal and frontal lobe, as that affects the overall severity of the speech impediment.
Occupational
When a stroke cuts off oxygen to any area of your brain, some basic tasks are often affected. This includes actions such as combing your hair, eating a meal, using a keyboard, using the bathroom or taking a shower. Occupational therapy is designed to help develop or restore the ability to perform these daily tasks, allowing you to be independent. This takes the responsibility off of others to help you and gives you the freedom and satisfaction of performing these tasks yourself. This can be done through repetition training, stretching, neuromuscular electrical stimulation or other tools that help your brain relearn the activities of daily living.
Psychological Rehabilitation
Having a stroke can be a traumatic experience, especially if the after effects of the stroke change major aspects of your life, such as your ability to talk or even perform basic daily functions like brushing your teeth. These changes can result not only in physical changes, but also social changes in the way other view and treat you as well as the way you look at yourself. Psychological rehabilitation, such as with a trained counselor or psychologist, can help you deal with any social and mental health issues after a stroke, such as anxiety or depression.
