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STROKE REHABILITATION
After suffering a stroke, many people will be left with some
disability,
the severity of which depends on the size and location of the
stroke.
Disability may be in the form of difficulty with thinking, language,
swallowing, walking, etc. Rehabilitation is designed to restore
functions lost from damage due to stroke. During a rehab period,
most patients will improve to some degree, but many do not completely
recover.
Unlike skin cells, brain cells that die can’t be replaced
by new cells. However, the human brain is adaptable and patients
may learn new ways of functioning, utilizing other undamaged
brain cells. This stage is often a challenge because the patient
and family must work together as part of a medical team.
A stroke patient's rehabilitation team may include physical,
occu-pational, and speech therapists, nurses, and doctors. Most
of the improvement will take place in the first three to six
months of the rehabilitation process, but some patients can
make excellent progress over longer periods of time.
In the Chattanooga area we are fortunate to have a number of
excellent rehabilitation centers that specialize in rehabilitation
of stroke patients. |
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