A stroke affects your brain, your body’s control centre and has the potential to dramatically alter your life in the blink of an eye.
If you’ve recently suffered a stroke, your medical team may recommend rehabilitation. Stroke rehab aims to help your brain learn, change, and adapt.
At Valens Care, we provide stroke rehab at home for those in the Brisbane metro area. Our team of NDIS-registered mobile physiotherapists will work closely with you, supporting your recovery journey.
Here we discuss at-home stroke rehab and how our team of experienced Valens Care physiotherapists might be able to provide support.
What’s a stroke?
Your brain receives oxygen and nutrients from the blood carried through your blood vessels. If you’ve experienced a stroke, it means that either a blocked or ruptured blood vessel occured, preventing the necessary blood flow to your brain.
When blood supply isn’t restored quickly,, the brain’s nerves start to perish, leading to lasting damage.
This may affect many areas of your life including how you think, speak and behave. It may also impact your ability to swallow, feel, touch, see and move.
Home rehab after stroke
The impacts of your stroke will depend on its severity and location, making personalised care essential for your recovery. Stroke rehabilitation is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Here’s how our Valens Care In-home physiotherapy service aims to support you through rehab:
- Comfort and Convenience: At Valens Care, we understand that recovering from a stroke can be physically and emotionally draining, so we do everything in our power to make receiving your care as easy as possible for you. Our mobile physiotherapy service brings your treatment to your doorstep, eliminating the need for travel and making the process as comfortable and convenient as possible.
- Personalised Care: Our physiotherapists will tailor your rehabilitation plan to you. We’ll work with you on your balance, posture, and coordination, aiming to recover movement and sensation. We take great care in ensuring you receive individualised treatment, focusing on your unique challenges and strengths to help you get the most out of your care.
- Familiar Environment: Being in your own home during therapy sessions can provide a sense of comfort and familiarity, which may help to reduce stress and anxiety. Also, many find that the presence of their familiar surroundings and loved ones can boost motivation and aid active participation in rehabilitation.
How does at-home stroke rehab work?
Our mobile physiotherapists carry all the equipment you’ll need for your home physiotherapy session. We will focus on:
Motor Skill Retraining
Following your stroke, you may experience weakness, paralysis, or impaired coordination. Motor skill retraining aims to help you regain your motor skills by:
- Providing you with exercises specifically designed to target your affected muscles and joints, aiming to improve strength, coordination, and range of motion.
- Techniques such as mirror therapy and sensory re-education may be used to stimulate your brain and help you relearn motor skills.
- One major benefit of receiving care in your home environment is the opportunity to perform task-specific training. This aims to help you regain the functional abilities you need for daily living by helping you with real-life tasks that are important to you, such as dressing, cooking, or using the bathroom.
Mobility Improvement
You may have found that following your stroke, muscle weakness and balance issues make it harder to walk or move independently. Physiotherapy aims to help you to improve your mobility through several different techniques:
- Gait training may help you to improve your balance, coordination, and walking pattern.
- Strength training uses targeted exercises to strengthen the muscles you use for standing and walking. By increasing your strength, you may gain not only stability but also confidence.
- Another benefit of in-home care is the opportunity for your physiotherapist to provide adaptive strategies. Your physiotherapist can identify obstacles or areas of difficulty in your home, like stairs or tight corners. They can teach you how to navigate those obstacles and where necessary provide advice on aids that might help to increase your independence and safety.
Functional Independence
One of the most important goals of stroke rehabilitation is to assist you in regaining as much functional independence as possible so that you can perform your daily activities.
- Tasks like bathing, dressing, and eating are crucial which is why Activities of Daily Living Training is a priority. We work with you to help you to relearn, or where necessary learn new ways, to perform these essential tasks.
- Your home should be a safe and accessible space for you. We may suggest environmental modifications such as the installation of grab bars or ramps, to enhance your safety and ease of movement.
- Your loved ones will play a crucial role in supporting your rehabilitation. Our team can provide valuable education and training to your caregivers and loved ones, helping them understand how to assist you and promote your independence.
The Valens Care Difference
At Valens Care, we don’t just focus on immediate recovery. We aim to equip you with the skills and strategies needed for long-term independence. Our approach to stroke rehabilitation considers not only short-term goals but also your sustained well-being and quality of life.
We provide high-quality, individualised and NDIS-registered mobile physiotherapy services, for people who’ve suffered a stroke. Our mobile physiotherapy service covers Brisbane metro areas including:
- Redlands
- Logan
- Northern Suburbs
- Brisbane Western Suburbs
- Brisbane Southern Suburbs
- CBD and Inner suburbs
To determine if you might be eligible to claim treatment under the National Disability Insurance Scheme visit our website https://valenscare.com.au/ndis/.
To learn more about our mobile stroke rehab service check out our website or contact us today.
* All information is general and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Valens Care can consult with you regarding your individual health needs.
References:
Australian Physiotherapy Association. (2023). Choose Physio for Stroke Recovery. https://choose.physio/your-condition/stroke-recovery
Stroke Foundation. (2023). What is a Stroke?
https://strokefoundation.org.au/about-stroke/learn/what-is-a-stroke