An Overview of Stroke Rehabilitation
More than 700,000 people suffer a
stroke each year in the United States, and approximately two-thirds of these individuals survive and require stroke rehabilitation. The goals of stroke rehabilitation are to help survivors become as independent as possible and to attain the best possible quality of life. Even though rehabilitation does not "cure" stroke in that it does not reverse brain damage, stroke rehabilitation can substantially help people achieve the best possible long-term outcome.
What Is Stroke Rehabilitation?
Stroke rehabilitation helps stroke survivors relearn skills that are lost when part of the brain is damaged. For example, these skills can include coordinating leg movements in order to walk or carrying out the steps involved in any complex activity. Stroke rehabilitation also teaches survivors new ways of performing tasks to compensate for any residual disabilities.
Patients may need to learn how to bathe and dress using only one hand, or how to communicate effectively when their ability to use language has been compromised. There is a strong consensus among rehabilitation experts that the most important element in any stroke rehabilitation program is carefully directed, well-focused, repetitive practice -- the same kind of practice used by all people when they learn a new skill, such as playing the piano or pitching a baseball.
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