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Stroke Rehabilitation

A stroke can affect movement, speech, coordination, and daily tasks. It may cause muscle weakness, balance issues, or difficulty speaking. These challenges can be overwhelming, but rehabilitation therapy helps patients regain strength, mobility, and independence.

Understanding Strokes

What Is a Stroke?

Stroke rehabilitation is a type of neurological rehabilitation. This can involve physical, occupational, speech and even vestibular therapy. Whether the stroke was mild or severe, rehabilitation can help.

A stroke is a serious medical condition that occurs when the blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced. It’s a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. The faster you receive treatment, the better your chances of recovery and minimizing long-term effects.

Why Strokes Happen

What Causes a Stroke?

Strokes are primarily caused by two things: blocked arteries (ischemic stroke) or leaking or bursting blood vessels (hemorrhagic stroke). There are factors that raise the risk of stroke.

Stroke Risk Factors

Strokes can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of age or gender. However, certain risk factors can increase your chances of experiencing one. Risk factors can be divided into two categories: modifiable and non-modifiable.

  • Modifiable risk factors (those you can control): high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and stress.
  • Non-modifiable risk factors (those you cannot control): age (risk increases with age), gender (men are at higher risk, but women have more stroke-related deaths), race (African Americans have a higher risk), family history of stroke, personal history of stroke or TIA, certain medical conditions (e.g., sickle cell disease, heart defects).

Types of Strokes

What Is an Ischemic Stroke?

An ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, accounting for approximately 87% of all cases. It occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain, severely reducing blood flow. This type of stroke can be further classified into two categories:

Thrombotic stroke: A blood clot forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain.

Embolic stroke: A blood clot forms elsewhere in the body and travels to the brain, lodging in a smaller blood vessel.

Ischemic strokes can impact brain function. The severity depends on the location and duration of the blockage. Quick medical intervention is important to minimize damage to brain tissue.

What Is a Hemorrhagic Stroke?

A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures. This type of stroke accounts for about 13% of all stroke cases but is responsible for a higher percentage of stroke-related deaths. There are two main types of hemorrhagic strokes:

Intracerebral hemorrhage: Bleeding occurs directly into the brain tissue.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage: Bleeding occurs in the space between the brain and the thin tissues that cover it.

These strokes can cause rapid buildup of pressure within the skull, leading to severe brain damage if not treated promptly.

What Is a Mini Stroke?

A mini stroke, also known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), is a temporary disruption of blood flow to part of the brain. Unlike a full-blown stroke, the blockage is brief, and symptoms typically resolve within 24 hours. However, a TIA should not be ignored, as it’s often a warning sign of an impending major stroke.

The symptoms of a mini-stroke are similar to those of a regular stroke but are usually short-lived. They don’t cause permanent brain damage.

Approximately 1 in 3 people who experience a TIA will have a major stroke within a year. If you suspect you’ve had a mini stroke, seek medical care immediately. Your doctor can perform tests to determine the cause and recommend appropriate preventive measures.

Telltale Signs Of Stroke

What Are the Symptoms of a Stroke?

The acronym FAST is an easy way to remember the most common stroke symptoms:

  • F: Face drooping
  • A: Arm weakness
  • S: Speech difficulty
  • T: Time to call emergency services

Other stroke symptoms may include:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion or trouble understanding speech
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
    Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance
  • Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Stroke symptoms often occur suddenly and without warning. If you or someone around you experiences any of these symptoms, don’t wait – call emergency services immediately.

How We Help You Get Better

Stroke and Rehabilitation Therapies

Stroke rehabilitation involves multiple therapies that target different aspects of recovery. Your rehabilitation will vary depending on how you’ve been affected by the stroke. At PT Solutions, we offer neurological rehabilitation services, which combine different therapeutic approaches.

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Treatments at PT Solutions

Neurological Rehabilitation
Neurological rehabilitation combines therapeutic approaches to restore function, improve mobility, and help you regain independence.

Occupational Therapy
We help people adapt in relation to pain, injuries, illnesses, and disabilities that may make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks.

Physical Therapy
Physical therapy helps restore movement and manage pain after an injury, surgery or illness. It also helps people dealing with chronic conditions that affect their ability to perform everyday activities.

Vestibular Therapy
Vestibular therapy and rehabilitation will help you regain your mobility and balance and treat conditions like vertigo, dizziness, and balance issues.

Speech Therapy
Speech Therapy is designed to treat communication dysfunctions along with swallowing disorders.

Treatment & Rehabilitation

How to Treat a Stroke

Strokes are treated in hospitals as a medical emergency and require immediate care. The treatment depends on the type and severity of the stroke. Ischemic strokes (caused by a clot) are treated with clot-busting medication (tPA) or thrombectomy if caught early. Hemorrhagic strokes (caused by bleeding) may require medications, surgery, or other interventions to stop the bleeding and reduce pressure in the brain. After emergency care, rehabilitation therapy (physical, occupational, and speech therapy) helps stroke survivors regain strength, mobility, and daily function.

How to Prevent a Stroke

Preventing a stroke involves managing modifiable risk factors and making healthy lifestyle choices. There are also medications that can help, like blood thinners.

Treatment & Rehabilitation

How to Treat a Stroke

Strokes are treated in hospitals as a medical emergency and require immediate care. The treatment depends on the type and severity of the stroke. Ischemic strokes (caused by a clot) are treated with clot-busting medication (tPA) or thrombectomy if caught early. Hemorrhagic strokes (caused by bleeding) may require medications, surgery, or other interventions to stop the bleeding and reduce pressure in the brain. After emergency care, rehabilitation therapy (physical, occupational, and speech therapy) helps stroke survivors regain strength, mobility, and daily function.

How to Prevent a Stroke

Preventing a stroke involves managing modifiable risk factors and making healthy lifestyle choices. There are also medications that can help, like blood thinners.

Get The Care You Need After Stroke

Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Your rehabilitation therapist(s) will work closely with you and your family to set realistic goals and track progress throughout the recovery process.

How Effective Is Rehabilitation After Stroke?

Rehabilitation after a stroke can be highly effective in helping patients regain lost functions and improve their quality of life. Intensive rehabilitation in the first few months after a stroke leads to better outcomes.

While complete recovery may not always be possible, rehabilitation can significantly improve a patient’s independence and quality of life after a stroke. Patients who participate in structured rehabilitation programs show greater improvements in mobility and daily activities. Continued rehabilitation efforts can lead to functional gains even years after a stroke.

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Getting Ready

What To Expect From Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke rehabilitation is a personalized process designed to help each patient regain as much function and independence as possible. Since no two strokes are the same, your rehab plan will be customized to match your specific impairments and individual needs.

Your care team will begin by evaluating how the stroke has affected your movement, speech, balance, coordination, and ability to perform daily tasks. From there, they’ll create a tailored therapy plan that includes targeted exercises and activities focused on the areas where you need the most support.

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Find A Stroke Rehabilitation Therapist Near You

Rehabilitation significantly improves outcomes after a stroke, even years after the event. The earlier you start, the better the results.

Find a Clinic

Get Started

Find A Stroke Rehabilitation Therapist Near You

Rehabilitation significantly improves outcomes after a stroke, even years after the event. The earlier you start, the better the results.

Find a Clinic

Keep Learning

FAQs About Stroke and Rehabilitation

While many stroke risk factors are similar for men and women, some factors are unique to women or more likely to affect them. This list includes hormonal changes (like pregnancy and menopause), birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy and migraines with aura.

Stress itself doesn’t directly cause a stroke, but is a well-known risk factor. Managing stress through healthy coping strategies can help reduce overall stroke risk.

Strokes themselves are not directly inherited, but certain genetic factors can increase your risk. This includes a family history of stroke or heart disease, inherited blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell anemia) and a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure or diabetes.

A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is blocked or a blood vessel bursts, causing brain cells to lose oxygen and die. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, depriving the heart muscle of oxygen. Both are medical emergencies that require immediate treatment

A stroke lasts until blood flow to the brain is restored. When brain cells don’t get enough oxygen, they begin to die within minutes. The risk of lasting effects rises the longer the stroke goes on and depending on how severe the stroke is. A stroke can last minutes or hours. TIAs (mini-strokes) typically last less than 24 hours.

The recovery timeline after a stroke varies greatly depending on the severity of the stroke, the area of the brain affected, and the individual’s overall health. Some people may recover within weeks, while others may require months or even years of rehabilitation.

A cerebellar stroke occurs when blood flow to the cerebellum—the part of the brain that controls balance, coordination, and fine motor skills—is blocked or disrupted. This can happen due to a blood clot (ischemic stroke) or bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke). Rehabilitation therapy for cerebellar stroke includes vestibular therapy, to help stroke patients regain balance and coordination.

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