 | Robb Rose is Director of Marketing Operations at Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital of Wichita. Robb is also a Respiratory Therapist, Boarded Disability Analyst and Adjunct Faculty for Wichita Sate University. He holds a Masters in Human Resources from Webster University. Robb serves on the American Lung Association Regional Council and the American Heart Association Board of Directors. Robb is married and has 2 children. He can be reached at (316) 729-9999 |
Health & Rehabilitation
2004-02-01 09:19:00
What does stroke rehab involve?
: My Grandfather had a stroke, or as they call it a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) about 3 weeks ago. His doctors are now talking about sending him for Stroke Rehab. What can we expect and what does it involve?
Robb Rose
Question: My Grandfather had a stroke, or as they call it a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) about 3 weeks ago. His doctors are now talking about sending him for Stroke Rehab. What can we expect and what does it involve?Answer: Having a stroke is a traumatic experience, but these days there is reason to have hope regarding prevention, care, and recovery. Current stroke care is focused on early diagnosis of signs and symptoms, early treatment to preserve as much function as possible, and then initiate rehabilitation as soon as the stroke patient is functionally able to participate in stroke rehab. programs. Many stroke patients recover extremely well. Sometimes the recovery process can be spontaneous, yet most of the time it requires time, determination by the patient and their family, and hard work with their therapists. A couple of famous stroke patient examples include actress Patricia Neal, and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Signs and symptoms of stroke include: sudden trouble walking, sudden trouble speaking, sudden severe headache, sudden weakness on one side, and/or sudden trouble seeing. Not all the warning signs occur in every stroke. Check and remember when the signs and symptoms began. If the symptoms last longer than 1 minute, contact 9-1-1 immediately!Rehabilitation for stroke can involve physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, respiratory therapy, aquatic therapy, and even acupuncture with electrical stimulation, which has proved highly successful in returning patients to their home. All of these therapies are for neuromuscular and cognitive conditioning, and strengthening. Rehab. provides the tools to do old tasks in new ways, cope and move forward. According to the American Stroke Association (div. Of Am. Heart Assoc.), there are 7 factors that predict successful stroke rehab. They are; a quick spontaneous return of some muscle movement, no severe visual or sensory loss, an ability to resume swallowing and eating, intact cognitive ability to follow instructions, bowel and bladder continence, treatable depression, and supportive family and friends. Stroke Rehab. outcomes have been proven to be extremely cost effective with enormous positive results.
