What to do after a stroke?
NORMAN Neurological Rehabilitation Centre
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In an ideal situation, the person having a stroke or their loved ones recognise its symptoms and know how to respond, which allows the patient to reach hospital within the first three hours of the stroke occurring. Unfortunately, the ideal situation rarely happens, and every second without help works against the patient.
The symptoms of a stroke are often dismissed and treated as a temporary indisposition that will pass on its own. As a result, the patient puts off going to a medical facility, which means very precious moments for stopping or reversing the situation are lost.
When can rehabilitation after a stroke begin, and who should carry it out?
If the patient’s life is not in danger after their stroke and the doctor sees no contraindications, rehabilitation can begin as early as the first day after the event. It is best carried out by a qualified physiotherapist with experience of working with cases of this kind. Often, however, hospital wards do not have enough suitably trained staff.
There is, however, the option of inviting a qualified therapist to see an inpatient privately. This is worth considering, because well-run early rehabilitation after a stroke is a very important element that produces positive effects in the further course of therapy.
The point of therapeutic care is not to provide the patient with massages to protect against pressure sores. The essence of therapy is working with a neurological physiotherapist who has the knowledge and experience to guide the patient properly out of the deficits caused by the stroke. The time lost immediately after a stroke often cannot be made up, or it takes months — even years — when therapy is started too late.
Support from loved ones after a stroke
The attitude of the family, closest carers or the patient’s partner plays an important role. Their task is to organise rehabilitation support as quickly as possible for the person with post-stroke deficits. In many cases, the help of a psychologist and a speech and language therapist to carry out speech rehabilitation may also be needed. Reaching a specialist physiotherapy facility quickly is a major advantage.
The ideal care pathway after observing or diagnosing the symptoms of a stroke involves recognising the problem quickly, transporting the patient to a neurology ward, starting therapy as soon as possible, continuing it on a rehabilitation ward, and then arranging home-based rehabilitation and further treatment at a specialist centre.
Once physical improvement has been achieved, further therapy should not be abandoned. To maintain the effect and allow for further improvement, it should be carried out regularly at home, on an outpatient basis by a suitable physiotherapist, or in the form of neurological rehabilitation stays.
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The next step
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