Stroke




Description

A stroke can impact a large part of your daily life, it can have an impact on your ability to walk, balance, speech and memory. Exercise is a very important part of recovery from a stroke and can help you get back to activities and improve your overall strength.

  • Ischemic (blockage): a blocked artery interrupting blood flow to a certain area of the brain
  • Hemorrhagic (breakage): an artery in the brain breaks, creating a pool of blood which causes damage to specific regions of the brain
    • If Someone Is Having A Stroke: FAST
      • Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
      • Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
      • Speech: Ask the person to repeat a phrase. Is speech slurred or strange?

    Time: If you observe any of these signs, call 000 right away.

 

Common Signs & Symptoms after a Stroke

  • Single sided weakness
  • Limited ability to use 1 side of your body
  • Reduced coordination
  • Changes in movement
  • Difficulty with speech
  • Fatigue

Impact on Life

  • Physical:
    • Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body (hemiparesis or hemiplegia) reduces mobility and independence.
    • Balance and coordination problems increase the risk of falls.
    • Fatigue and pain limit participation in daily activities.
    • Reduced fine motor control makes tasks such as dressing, eating, or writing difficult.
  • Cognitive:
    • Memory loss and poor concentration interfere with learning and daily functioning.
    • Difficulty with problem-solving, planning, and decision-making due to reduced executive function
  • Emotional and Psychological:
    • Personality or mood changes, such as irritability or emotional instability, may occur.
    • Decreased self-esteem and confidence can lead to social withdrawal.
    • Communication difficulties can create frustration and social isolation.
    • Greater dependence on family members or carers for support.

How Can Exercise Physiology Help?

Exercise Physiology can help to:

  • Identify where is best to start with exercise

    • It is hard to know what exercises to start with after a stroke without guidance

    • A stroke can cause a number of issues and these issues can vary between individuals. We assess strength, balance, mobility, walking, stairs and aches and pains to identify what is the most important issue to address

  • Provide a simple effective program that will help you to improve

    • By focusing on the exercises that will make a big difference we can provide you with a simple and effective program that will make a big difference
    • We will do all the hard work when we are with you and provide a few exercises to practice between sessions rather than 10-12 which can be hard to complete 

  • Improve walking ability and aerobic fitness

    • Continually practicing walking in a safe environment helps retrain the moving and coordination parts of the brain required for effective walking
    • Increasing walking time and distance gradually increases the heart rate and helps build up a walking tolerance which decreases blood pressure and cholesterol.

  • Improve balance and reduces number of severe falls

    • Safe exposure to progressively challenging balance exercises helps strengthen the muscles of the hips, legs and feet to provide stability and prevent falls

  • Improve independence and help you to return to some activities 

    • As you get stronger activities such as sitting and standing, walking and stair use will get easier allowing you to return to activities that have been hard or that you have been unable to complete

When To Get Help

Previously research has shown that most improvement post stroke occurs during the first 12 months of recovery. 

However lately it has been seen that this is not the case- the early you address what has happened the quicker you will get a better outcome . The extent of how much you can improve varies based on the person- however most people can always improve on how they are currently- whether it be improving walking quality, being able to stand up and transfer with ease or improve the function of your affected arm.

Exercise Physiology addresses the key symptoms that are causing the most physical trouble directly and addresses them through exercise. By addressing this we can help you come up with and implement an efficient and effective plan.

Where To Start

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my Home Care Package/Support at Home Program to access Exercise Physiology?

Yes- we can contact you provider to organise services through your package. We are able to fit in around current budgets to provide an effective service without impacting your current plan.

Our services under the Support at Home Program do not have any copayments attached and are a fantastic preventative option that help to reduce condition progress and provide people with a way to improve their health and mobility

How Does Exercise Physiology reduce symptoms?

During our initial appointments we complete a series of tests looking at:

  • Balance
  • Grip Strength
  • Walking
  • Standing up from a chair(leg strength)
  • Stair use(if possible)
  • Aches and Pains 
  • Other relevant physical tests 

These tests give us an indicator of what area needs to be addressed and helps to identify what exercises will help the most.

By prioritising a few exercises it helps to improve exercise adherence, reduce frustration and improve the reward for effort

All of these tests can be improved over time through exercise and they provide an in depth overview of someones physical condition

How often do Exercise Physiology Visits occur?

We will recommend the best option based on the testing results completed in the initial assessment 

We see most of our clients on average either weekly or once per fortnight. However we are happy to discuss options based on individual circumstances

What does a normal Exercise Physiology Home Visit look like?

During an exercise physiology visit you can expect to compete a number of exercises working on improving the areas you need to improve

 

Initial Assessment 

Questions regarding

  • Medical Conditions
  • Aches and Pains 
  • Medications 
  • Falls History
  • Current Exercise Levels

Some tests looking at:

  • Balance
  • Walking 
  • Sitting and Standing 
  • Stair Use 
  • Grip Strength
  • Aches and Pains

From this we recommend how often you would benefit from our services, plus the 3 most important exercises to improve

These tests are done every 6 weeks to monitor improvement and to identify other areas that need to be worked on

 

During a normal session we usually complete:

  • 5-6 exercises working on improving
  • These exercises are progressed over the sessions 
  • We update any home exercises as needed
  • Practice completing harder exercises that require supervision eg balance