Years after stroke survivors have been discharged from therapy, recovery can continue.
Of course, the speed of recovery diminishes over time. There is
no time that is quite as fertile as the period of natural recovery in the first
few months after stroke.
But recovery can continue. Stroke survivors should be
encouraged to see discharge from therapy as not the beginning of the end, but
as the end of the beginning. The baton of the conductor of the grand symphony
of recovery is passed from therapists to survivor.
Most of the time
therapists will leave stroke survivors with little guidance for
further recovery. Some therapists think “HEP” stands for “Hand ‘em
photocopies.” Too often the HEP reflects nothing more than a watered down version
of the exercises that were done in the clinic.
Irony: The survivor is left with the same exercises that caused the very plateau that caused the discharge!
Therapists have a very good reason for prescribing the same exercises as were done in the clinic: They don't want you to go home, do an exercise that you don't fully know how to do, and get hurt.
Therapists have a very good reason for prescribing the same exercises as were done in the clinic: They don't want you to go home, do an exercise that you don't fully know how to do, and get hurt.
A good home exercise program
will help the survivor to continue making progress once they are home. The HEP can and should be started the day the therapist meets the survivor. Therapy itself can be part of the HEP. If the survivor and caregivers can see what goes into the basic concepts that
therapists use all the time, they will be able to direct their own recovery
long after they’ve forgotten your name.
The HEP should explain:
àprogression of
exercise,
àmeasuring and documenting progress,
àtips on equipment needed
for a home gym.
Therapists: Your job is done. You would have liked more time with them, but this is all manged care has allowed. At least, you’ve helped them to be functional, safe and return home.
Survivors: Your job has just
doubled. Not only do survivors have to continue the quest towards recovery through
their own efforts, but they have to do it without therapist's guidance. Leaving stroke survivors with the
tools they need to continue the quest is critical helping them to be in the
best position to reach the highest level of potential recovery.
8 comments:
I thought this would be an ad for the fitmi
Hey John, I did look at fitmi... not quite sure what the point is with it. The video they have up misses the mark by... a lot. Weird. Thanks.
Whats wrong with the fitmi then? I thought it allows you to create exercise programs increasing in difficulty, thus breaking through that plateau you mention? I assumed youd be excited by it.
I am sure this describes the typical experience, but after reading your book and checking Deans posts daily for info that might apply to me, I have learned how to continue getting professional therapy and my experience is slow steady improvement. You are totally right about doing it yourself, and you have to be the CEO of your own health, but it is difficult & complicated to keep progressing without some expert advice.
It has been 4 years since stroke caused by a bacterial infection called Whipple’s, which caused me to lose 40 pounds in 4 months & put me in the hospital for 56 days. In the sub-acute phase, I got a measly 8 days inpatient paid by insurance, then sent home in a wheel chair, and allowed a poultry 8 weeks of a combined 4 PT, OT, & speech sessions a week at home. 4 months after the stroke I could barely walk with a cane & AFO, needed an arm sling, and no hand movement. Then I was discharged to outpatient care limited to a maximum of 20 sessions. Then I found in the policy fine print, that more is allowed for neurological conditions. I am now on Medicare and find it also allows more if shown medically necessary. I now see my OT every 3 weeks and my PT monthly. That is 140 sessions so far.
I come to every session with written agenda listing my questions, concerns, progress I have noticed to maximize my benefit from the sessions. The therapist make measurements and document progress so insurance or Medicare continues to pay. They help me figure out what to work on next and how to exercise & stretch. Of course you have to do what they say and work at it as much as you can each day. I spend 2-4 hours a day exercising & stretching. Recovering from hemiparesis & spasticity is complicated and you need neuro therapist not the typical, who only deals with orthotic issues, because nothing is wrong with my muscles, joints & nerves. It is a brain problem!
Great advice in your comment Mr. Wenker... thanks!
But nobody in a rehab facility ever explained to me what stress does in the body and that you can't recover when your nervous system is stuck on high alert. All they kept saying to me was: Go see a psychologist. But I've discovered that most psychologists don't know what stress does to the body. I've recently tried TRE (Trauma & Tension Releasing Exercises: https://traumaprevention.com), but that didn't work for me. The idea is that animals shake off their stress once they've escaped a predator and that humans suppress this natural reaction, because we think it looks weak. With TRE you provoke tremors and at a certain point the brain stem has to take over and make your body shake in a natural way so it can release all the build up tension. Sounded good to me (brain stem is not affected, just the cortex), but you had to start shaking from a relaxed state and I just can't because my muscles are so tight. Now I've decided to start again with Body Stress Release (http://bodystressrelease.com/home/). I've done this a few years ago, but only 3 times, which wasn't enough by far. But I'm going on a holiday first and after that I'm starting the treatments again.
This is helpful but also i recieved also of very useful info. from Physical therapy home exercise software about different programs to help with home exercise program, home workouts, Best Workout app it was so helpful i hope it helps you too.
Wow Really Very nice post Such a useful information thanks for sharing
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