Stroke In Clive
What is a stroke?
Stroke is a devastating condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is caused by a disruption in the blood supply to the brain, which can lead to brain damage and a range of physical and cognitive symptoms. Physical therapy is an essential part of stroke treatment, as it helps patients recover their mobility, strength, and independence.
How does Physical Therapy help?
Physical therapy clinics offer a variety of stroke treatments that are tailored to each patient’s specific needs. These treatments may include exercises to improve range of motion, strength, balance, and coordination. Physical therapists may also use electrical stimulation to help stimulate weak or inactive muscles and reduce pain.
Range of motion exercises are designed to help stroke patients regain their mobility by improving flexibility, reducing muscle stiffness, and preventing muscle contractures. These exercises may include passive range of motion exercises, where the physical therapist moves the patient’s limbs for them, or active range of motion exercises, where the patient moves their own limbs.
Strengthening exercises are used to help stroke patients regain their strength. Physical therapists may use weights, resistance bands, or other equipment to help patients gradually increase their strength. Strengthening exercises can help patients improve their ability to perform daily tasks, such as walking or reaching.
Many stroke patients experience issues with their balance and coordination. Physical therapists can help patients improve their balance and coordination through various exercises, such as standing on one leg, walking on uneven surfaces, or performing exercises that require coordination, such as tossing a ball back and forth. These exercises can help improve the patient’s ability to perform daily activities and reduce the risk of falls.
Gait training is an essential part of stroke rehabilitation, as it helps patients regain their ability to walk. Physical therapists may use various techniques, such as treadmill training, walking on different surfaces, or using assistive devices, such as canes or walkers, to help patients improve their gait. Gait training can help patients regain their independence and improve their quality of life.
Functional training focuses on helping stroke patients regain their ability to perform daily tasks, such as dressing, grooming, or cooking. Physical therapists may use various techniques, such as simulating real-life situations, to help patients practice these tasks in a safe and controlled environment. Functional training can help patients regain their independence and improve their confidence.
Finally, electrical stimulation is a technique that uses electrical currents to help stimulate muscles that may be weak or inactive due to a stroke. Physical therapists may use electrical stimulation to help patients regain muscle strength, improve blood flow, and reduce pain. This technique can be used in conjunction with other stroke treatments to help patients recover more quickly.
Physical therapy is an essential part of stroke treatment because it helps patients recover their mobility, strength, and independence. Stroke patients may experience a range of physical and cognitive symptoms, such as paralysis, muscle weakness, speech difficulties, and memory problems. Physical therapy can help address these symptoms and improve the patient’s overall quality of life.
Physical therapists work closely with stroke patients to develop a personalized treatment plan that is tailored to their specific needs. The treatment plan may include a combination of exercises, such as range of motion, strengthening, and balance training, as well as functional training and electrical stimulation.
In addition to physical therapy, stroke patients may also require other medical treatments, such as medication or surgery. However, physical therapy is an essential part of the recovery process and can help patients regain their independence and improve their overall quality of life.
Get started with physical therapy today
Stroke treatment in a physical therapy clinic involves a variety of techniques and exercises that are designed to help patients regain their mobility, strength, and independence. Physical therapists work closely with patients to develop a personalized treatment plan that is tailored to their specific needs. If you or someone you know has suffered a stroke, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits of physical therapy.
Louise Shimon
My first and only horrible experience with vertigo was two years ago. After a few hours my symptoms subsided but the rest of the day I was afraid to do anything for fear that the spinning would return.
In the following days I went to physical therapy with Annette. At the time, she worked at a branch of a physical therapy business that accepted my insurance. Annette had wonderful bedside manner and took great care of me within the boundaries set by insurance. One of the things she did during procedures was to have me wear goggles connected to her computer. By doing so she could record the movement of my eyes. Then she could play back the videos to review.
Since then I’ve not experienced any severe symptoms. However, about a year ago mild symptoms surfaced again. I went to a different PT because Annette had begun her own practice and the corporate PT clinic was unable to tell me where Annette was practicing. The physical therapist I went to in the interim tested me briefly without goggles and couldn’t detect any abnormality as far as vertigo or balance.
I then went about two months without going to PT, thinking I must be imagining symptoms.
At the end of those two months I was able to locate Annette at her own new practice, Mountain Laurel Physical Therapy. She DID have me put on goggles, tested me several ways and could verify that yes, she had data pinpointing my issues.
Because I’d probably been experiencing vertigo for those entire two months, it took several visits with Annette to resolve the issue. During that process with Annette, the symptoms were still minor and I could do most activities at an ok level. But Annette helped me modify so I could feel comfortable doing anything I wanted.
Annette listens very thoroughly to what I say about my symptoms. Also, because she is a cash business, there are additional reasons I still choose to go to her.
She can take longer with me than insurance would pay for.
She can do more in a single appointment than insurance would pay for.
I can correspond with her between appointments if I have therapy-related questions and she’ll get back to me with feedback.
Between appointments she checks in with me to see how I’m doing.
This next one is huge and she would not have been able to do this if she was still employed at the previous clinic. She went with me to my ear, nose, and throat doctor to converse with him about my ear issues. It was very reassuring for me to have Annette at the appointment talking the lingo with and comparing notes with the ENT specialist. Them having the opportunity to converse with me present solidified what each of them had me do for follow-up to make sure they weren’t missing anything. To me that option is priceless.
Craig Krauss
Mountain Laurel is a huge ace to have in my hand to keep me going at a very physical job. Annette is very knowledgeable and I learn a lot during our sessions about why my nerves and muscles act the way they do, explained in a way I can understand. I truly appreciate that my progress is a collaborative effort between Annette and myself. She asks questions, checks my range of motion, and we discuss ways to proceed during our sessions and after. She tweaks the program regularly based on what’s working or not and for where I’d like to make progress. Each session is a perfect mix of hands-on work by her, exercises that I do, conversation, and evaluating improvement. Annette is friendly and professional. I initially came to her for dizziness, which really scared me when I was experiencing it fairly regularly. I learned more about the causes than I ever could’ve imagined, and Annette’s straightforward tackling of the issue reassured me from the start that I was in the right place. Since then, we’ve worked on strengthening my back and other muscles, coordination, stability, range of motion, tension reduction, and more. We’ve discussed goals for where I’d like to be as I proceed through the sessions, and Annette has developed an ever-evolving home workout routine for me that keeps me active and works out soreness on days when I’m not in her office. Her scheduling has been greatly flexible for me, and she offers to get me in before our next scheduled session if my body tells me I need it, and it is a huge relief knowing I have that option if I severely strain or injure myself at work. It’s also a huge positive to have the variety of exercises she programs into the True Coach app, knowing I can use them whenever I need to work through pain and soreness on my own. With something so essential as my long term health, I’m privileged to be a client at Mountain Laurel and have access to such beneficial care.