I'm
always pretty confused about when recovery ends. I haven't had a
stroke, so I only know what I've heard. For some people recovery ends when
therapy ends. In fact it's pretty common that once therapy ends survivors
actually decline to various degrees. But some people seem to
trudge onward. I hear this a lot; "I've been at it for three years, and
I'm still making progress. It's a long road – but it's worth it."
Some survivors believe that recovery ends when they're able
to do so much with their life that you're too busy living to continue
working on recovery.
But just like an athlete trying to get better, a little means a lot. This is the thing that clinicians often don't know. Clinicians think that the world is binary – that you're either functional or nonfunctional. That is you're either able to do the task (i.e. walking, dressing, etc.), or you're not. I've always thought it should be more nuanced than that; little bits of movement are important irrespective of the function. It probably comes from my involvement in research. In research you measure little bits of "better" movement.
What good is "better" movement? What does it get you?
Better movement means …
•less spasticity
•better blood flow (when muscles contract there is "venous return" of blood back towards the heart)
•better cardiovascular health (the more you move, the stronger your heart gets)
But just like an athlete trying to get better, a little means a lot. This is the thing that clinicians often don't know. Clinicians think that the world is binary – that you're either functional or nonfunctional. That is you're either able to do the task (i.e. walking, dressing, etc.), or you're not. I've always thought it should be more nuanced than that; little bits of movement are important irrespective of the function. It probably comes from my involvement in research. In research you measure little bits of "better" movement.
What good is "better" movement? What does it get you?
Better movement means …
•less spasticity
•better blood flow (when muscles contract there is "venous return" of blood back towards the heart)
•better cardiovascular health (the more you move, the stronger your heart gets)
•a reduced heart rate
•less chance of falling
•the ability to fight infection better etc. etc.
•less chance of falling
•the ability to fight infection better etc. etc.
2 comments:
I think I've gotten to the point that I'm expending so much time and energy living that recovery has no allotted time except for occasional tries here and there.
Depends on your goal. I'm a perfectionist and I keep reaching for the best I can get out of my recovery. So I keep on going. Maybe someone else would be ok with using a walker and accept that. But it makes me miserable, I just want to be pretty again. And a walker is not pretty and sexy.
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