10 Effective Ways to Aid Your Stroke Recovery Process

10 Effective Ways to Aid Your Stroke Recovery Process

Strokes can be life-altering—from making routines feel impossible to do alone to making the simplest tasks difficult. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can do that are known to help the recovery process.

 

1. Exercise

 

This should be the first step any stroke survivor takes. Exercise helps regain motion lost after the stroke, rebuild strength and endurance, aids in alleviating depression, brings about socialization, and provides a sense of accomplishment. It would be best to search online for different exercises for stroke patients to find out what you can do on your own. Having family members, friends, or a physical therapist assist you will make a big difference.

 

2. Social Support

 

Having friends and family around can make all the difference in the world regarding helping with your recovery and making life bearable for you after a stroke. Having an outside person that can be counted on when things get rough is a must. You will most likely be taking time off from work, so having someone that can keep track of bills, schedules, housekeeping tasks, and other situations will be very helpful.

 

3. Physical Therapy

 

Years of research have shown that if a person attends physical therapy, the effect of the stroke will improve dramatically. Physical therapy is essential because it helps improve mobility, builds muscle strength and endurance, and teaches you how to perform everyday tasks independently. Specific exercises should be done daily, and physical therapists know how to get great results quickly.

 

4. Speech Therapy

 

When in the recovery process, many people forget about speech therapy. After a stroke, some people can have slurred speech that makes it difficult for people to understand them or figure out what they are trying to say. It is essential to get speech therapy because speaking clearly and intelligibly helps the person learn new tricks.

 

5. Facial Rehabilitation

 

Anyone having a stroke will have at least some symptoms of facial paralysis (the inability to move the face). These symptoms may include drooping eyelids, drooling, difficulty smiling or blinking, difficulty chewing or swallowing, poor taste and smell, and sore mouth. These symptoms can be helped greatly by the help of a speech therapist, in addition to doing exercises on your own.

 

6. Proper Nutrition

 

Some people have a stroke and do not get much nutrition because they cannot chew or swallow. These people must get plenty of protein, fat, and minerals in their diet as soon as possible after their stroke. This is because it takes a long time for your body’s ability to self-repair and regrow muscle. Also, it is essential for stomach acidity to be lowered after a stroke, so eating high-fiber foods will help tremendously.

 

7. Pain Management

 

In addition to the effects of the stroke on muscle strength and movement, many people will experience pain in the arm or leg. The effects of pain can affect the ability to perform your daily functions. Usually, the best way to deal with pain is to take medication from a doctor or a nurse, or you can visit a pain management center specializing in this type of therapy.

 

8. Have Enough Rest

 

Stroke survivors will want to take a break from the daily activities they were used to performing that the stroke took away. It is essential that they concentrate on their recovery and not attempt to participate in the stresses of daily life. This means they need to rest, sometimes even unable to go out for more than a short walk.

 

9. Change of Lifestyle

 

Stroke survivors can change their lifestyles in several ways. They can change how they look at life, the types of activities they did before their stroke, and even the way they communicate. They want to make sure that everything is changed positively.

 

10. Take Medication

 

Along with physical therapy, physical activity, and changes to one’s lifestyle, stroke survivors will want to be taking medication from a doctor or nurse. The medicine will affect and treat specific stroke symptoms such as speech problems or mobility issues. You must take all medicines to recover, even if the side effects are terrible. Many medications for your body will aid in speeding up your recovery process.

 

In conclusion, having a stroke can be a challenging process to go through. The hope is that by doing these ten things, you can make the best of this situation and eventually be able to recover for a more active life.