The perfect stroke survivor.

The perfect stroke survivor would be male. Outcomes are better for males. Depression hits men less after stroke, and they tend to be both younger and in better shape prior to the stroke.

The perfect stroke survivor would be well educated. Folks who are well-educated get more recovery than the less educated.

The perfect stroke survivor would have significant economic resources. The well-off recover more than then moderate or low income folks.

The perfect stroke survivor would be African-American. African-Americans recover more than Caucasians and/or Puerto Ricans.

So, Who would be the perfect person to have a stroke?

Click here to find out!

◉◉◉◉◉Where do I start?◉◉◉◉◉ Lemme give you a hand with that.

I've done a ton of talks to rehab clinicians. Sometimes I get a simple but perplexing question... I have a stroke survivor on my caseload. Where do I start?

When I meet a survivor, the first thing I check out is the hemi-side hand. The hand tells you a ton: 

• Is spasticity an issue? If it is, spasticity will show up in spades in the hand. All those little joints, and those little muscles pulling those little appendages. And the massive strength difference between the muscles that close the hand against the muscles that open the hand. Let's put it this way, you can hang from one hand. Your entire body weight through those little appendages. The muscles that open the hand have the strength to do one thing: open the hand. There is a huge difference in strength between the two groups of muscle groups. So if the question is, Is spasticity a problem  the hand will usually be the first to reveal it.
• Is the survivor paying attention to that hand? Many survivors will play with the affected hand constantly grabbing it and opening it. This is a good sign; unilateral neglect is probs not an issue.
• Are they able to squeeze the hand shut from and opened position? A lot of people, even clinicians, think opening is a good thing, but closing is a bad thing. I think closing is a good thing and opening is even a better thing! You need both. It kind of like the joke: "How you feeling?" "I'm alive!" "Well that beats the alternative!" (OK, its a dad joke. But I'm a dad—so its OK!) So, being able to close the hand beats the alternative. The alternative is nothing. The dreaded flaccidity.
• Are they able to open the hand? Can they "relax-open" the hand. That is, can the survivor relax the flexors so much that, while there is not contraction of the muscles that open the hand, there is at least a relaxation of the muscles that close the hand. That relaxation is important. The first thing needed to open the hand is the ability to shut of the muscles that close the hand.
• How does the hand look? Is it swollen? Is it the same color as the unaffected side? Does it have the same
  
  amount of hair. Is it painful. All those can tell you something (esp. in someone who has a post-stroke shoulder dislocation).
• What's going on globally? The hand takes up huge swaths of the brain. In some ways the most visible reflection of the brain is the hand, so the hand gives you global perspective on the brain.

So as a clinician—or survivor, or caregiver—the first thing to ask is, how is the hand doing?