Experience since 1993
Over such a long period of activity, we have gained a thorough understanding of our patients’ needs and preferences, including after severe strokes and long hospital stays.
NORMAN — specialised neurological rehabilitation for 30 years.Stroke rehabilitation stay
Intensive, individualised rehabilitation for people after a haemorrhagic or ischaemic stroke — led by a neurological team and focused on genuinely restoring lost function.
Therapy results
What patients say about us
Stroke rehabilitation stay
A specialised rehabilitation stay for patients after a stroke
A stroke rehabilitation stay should be fully focused on restoring lost function.
In Poland, the term “rehabilitation stay” covers a wide range of services, including rehabilitation-and-care stays, rehabilitation-and-leisure stays, and specialised rehabilitation stays.
A specialised rehabilitation stay for patients after a haemorrhagic stroke (a brain bleed) or an ischaemic stroke means rehabilitation delivered intensively, over a substantial amount of time, and with maximum safety for you.
Rehabilitation stays of this kind follow a completely different way of working with the patient than rehabilitation-and-care stays, rehabilitation-and-leisure stays, or the various stays offered at spas and holiday resorts.
Of course, combining rest with rehabilitation has its benefits too, but it is certainly not suitable as the centrepiece of a therapy plan.
What a stay like this should be built on
- a maximum focus on restoring lost function
- a large volume of individual therapy delivered regularly and safely
- consistency, repetition and appropriate neurological methods
- a realistic assessment of your potential, rather than simply following a set stay format
Your potential
A stroke rehabilitation stay and your potential
The greatest rehabilitation potential in patients after a stroke occurs in the immediate aftermath of the stroke, which is why not only the stay itself matters, but also what happened beforehand.
After a stroke, you are first admitted to a hospital ward. Most often, you are then referred for primary rehabilitation, which can last from several to a dozen or more weeks. Beyond that point, the only options available are usually private rehabilitation centres or rehabilitation at home.
This is why it is so important to begin rehabilitation as early as the acute phase of the stroke, while you are still in hospital. Bedside rehabilitation involves, among other things, respiratory stimulation, cough stimulation and swallowing stimulation, as well as preventing contractures and pressure sores.
Patients who have been “well cared for therapeutically” from the moment of the stroke most often regain function more quickly. For example, in many facilities a deep pressure sore is a contraindication to physical rehabilitation. The same applies to preventing contractures: the more severe they are, the longer the road back to function is likely to be.
Every patient is different, has smaller or larger changes in the brain, and is at a completely different stage of the rehabilitation process. That is why your potential can only be assessed on the basis of individual, systematic work with a physiotherapist or a team of specialists.
During a rehabilitation stay lasting several weeks, the specialists should be able to determine the prognosis. It can also help to understand how long stroke rehabilitation takes over the longer term. This is where the fundamental difference between leisure stays and specialised stays becomes clear.
How the work is done
What the team working with a patient after a stroke should look like
During a rehabilitation stay, a patient who has had a stroke should be looked after by specialists who are professionally trained in neurological rehabilitation.
This means that, in addition to a university degree, they should have the technical and specialist grounding needed for neurological rehabilitation. A neurological physiotherapist is someone who has obtained a master’s degree in physiotherapy and then specialised through additional courses and training in neurological rehabilitation.
It is very important to pay attention to a physiotherapist’s specialisation. Neurological conditions, which include stroke, are characterised by damage to the brain. By comparison, a fracture of the humerus and the exercises aimed at restoring the function of the whole upper limb are the domain of an orthopaedic rehabilitation specialist.
If problems with speech (aphasia) occur after a stroke, a neuro-speech therapist and targeted speech rehabilitation should also be included in the therapy process. If you also have problems with cognitive functions — such as memory, association or concentration — it is worth drawing on the help of a neuropsychologist and cognitive rehabilitation.
In practice, such a team should include
- a physiotherapist with neurological training
- a neuro-speech therapist for aphasia, dysarthria or dysphagia
- neuropsychological support for problems with memory, attention and executive functions
- a therapy plan tailored to the stage of the condition and to your current physical capacity
Your emotional wellbeing
A stroke rehabilitation stay and your emotional wellbeing
Your emotional wellbeing after a stroke is exceptionally important. It is an area that must not be overlooked if the stay is to bring genuine improvement.
It can be looked after as early as the hospital ward. Patients in a coma or with reduced awareness often respond to external stimuli such as touch, conversation and the presence of loved ones.
Given the changes in the brain caused by the stroke, a patient’s behaviour can differ considerably from how it was before the illness. Depression, mood swings, a sense of resignation and even aggression are common. Added to this is the discomfort of being in hospital and of having lost some independence.
It very often happens that a person after a stroke does not want to follow instructions, does not want to exercise and is resistant to rehabilitation. The family plays a very significant role here, taking on responsibility for their loved one’s therapy process.
Reluctance towards a rehabilitation stay usually stems from the trauma the patient carries after the stroke itself and after their hospital stay. For this reason, rehabilitation should take place in the most comfortable conditions possible.
During secondary rehabilitation, specialist medical equipment and round-the-clock medical care are not required. Patients taking part in rehabilitation stays are usually stable in terms of their vital functions and ready for rehabilitation in a non-hospital setting.
A stay at NORMAN
How it works at the NORMAN centre in Koszalin
At the NORMAN neurological rehabilitation centre, we have been running specialised rehabilitation stays since 1993.
Both bedridden and mobile patients
We work with patients who are bedridden in the immediate aftermath of a stroke, as well as with people who come to us for a later stage of therapy.
Targeted programmes
Alongside the comprehensive stay, we also run programmes focused on hand rehabilitation, working on gait and balance disorders, and restoring speech function.
The next step
Let's talk
We are here to answer any questions you may have about the rehabilitation process.
Describe your case
Send us the details of the patient's condition and we will assess them from a therapeutic perspective.
Email consultation
Write to us describing the condition and the patient's current state of health. We will reply with our view of your situation in the context of rehabilitation.
Video of the patient
You can send us a video showing the patient's current condition. We will respond to your situation and explain the therapeutic options available.