As strokes can cause major impairment to your motor and sensory skills, language and cognition, it is essential to start rehabilitation as soon as possible. This will increase your chances of regaining functions and return to your daily routines.
After a stroke, our brain cannot grow new cells to replace the ones that have been damaged, but the brain has the ability to reorganize its undamaged cells and make up for what has been lost. This is called Neuroplasticity. To facilitate this process of re-wiring after stroke, the sufficient repetition of exercise and tasks play a vital role, and research suggests that hundreds of repetition is required on daily basis to achieve this Neuroplasticity effect.
Recent stroke Rehabilitation guideline recommends appropriate rehabilitation tasks should be practised for at least 3 hours a day, on at least 5 days of the week, and covers a range of multidisciplinary therapy including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
Various factors need to be considered in choosing repetition, frequency and nature of the task to be practised. These factors include patient’s interest and goal, fatigue level, any limitations from pain or other medical issues. This process can be guided by Rehabilitation you receive following your stroke, and your physiotherapist at Aspire Rehab will provide expert guidance on amount of exercise and task practise required, how to relearn movement and regain function.
