Stroke is nothing but the increasing loss of brain functions because of disturbance in the flow of blood to the brain. This might occur because of ischemia (lack of blood flow) caused by blockage (thrombosis, arterial embolism) or hemorrhage (leakage of blood). As a result, the brain stops working and therefore the person cannot move his limbs on one side of the body. Other things might also happen such as inability to understand or inability to see one side of the visual field.
Approximately 700,000 people suffer a stroke every year in United states and two-thirds of them survive and needs rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is one of the treatments of post stroke. It makes the patient to relearn everyday activities and thus helps in making them independent as much as possible.
As a result of rehabilitation, the patient relearns the skills that were lost when their brain were not working. It helps the patient in performing the tasks to compensate for any residual disabilities.
Rehabiliation is a kind of medication which can begin only when the patient's medical condition has been stabilized. We can say, it may start within 24-48 hours post stroke. The very first step includes promoting independent movement since survivors get paralyzed and cannot move their limbs freely. Patients are supposed to change their positions frequently while lying in the bed. The nurses or therapists helps the survivor in performing progressively more complex as well as demanding tasks such as bathing, dressing and how to use the toilet. The idea is to increase recovery time and allow the patient to recover more quickly and effectively in order to return to their normal lives.
For many stroke patients, rehabilitation can be a long process and therefore helps to maintain and refine skills and could involve working with specialists for months or even years after the stroke.