All You Need To Know About Stroke Recovery
In any realm of life there are always ways to do things better and more efficiently. Also in any realm of life there are also dogmatic belief systems that keep things being done the same old way. Stroke recovery is one such area. While I do feel that most people in the industry of stroke rehabilitation are seeking to keep up with the latest research and apply the latest techniques, I still feel that a lot of patients are missing out on receiving the benefits of all the latest stroke recovery discoveries.
This can be for a number of reasons. Unfortunately changing mainstream beliefs is a very challenging thing to do. These beliefs are propagated in the media and discussed, and unfortunately they get cemented in people's belief systems and are very hard to change. You can see this type of dogmatic thinking in the exercise and weight loss industry. This article will serve to dispel some of the usual stroke recovery myths. Firstly, the belief that the brain cannot change. This one belief really goes against the corner stone of the whole stroke recovery premise and it is totally wrong. Secondly and as a sort of carry on from the first myth, the myth that there is only a small window of opportunity to recovery from a stroke, I have heard anywhere from 6 weeks to 1 year and after that you cannot make any more progress. And lastly, that there are not more efficient ways to perform stroke rehabilitation.
I cannot believe that myth number one still gets any credence. Some people still feel that the brain is set in stone and cannot change. We see the brain changing all the time and at every age. Every time we learn something new, the brain has changed. For example for you to learn a new skill such as like playing tennis requires your brain to change. As you improve, your co-ordination gets better, your speed improves and your accuracy sharpens all this must be reflected by changes in your brain and nervous system. The brain controls everything, and when changes happen like the previously mentioned tennis ones, the brain must have changed. This myth has been dispelled by science and neurology and as a far as I am concerned is really, pardon the pun, a no brainer to argue against.
Another commonly held myth about stroke recovery is that recovery can only happen in a small time period after the stroke and once that window is closed any further recovery is impossible. As a carry on from the point above, that the brain can change at anytime, this is once again just a myth. I don't discredit that making progress could be easier if stroke rehabilitation is started earlier but to say that it cannot be made after a magical window has closed is absurd. I have heard of some individuals 10 years after their stroke, who have been at a certain level of recovery and were then exposed to advanced stroke recovery methods and made more progress at that stage of their recovery than previously. The brain is capable of change at any time and if you are a stroke survivor and wanting more progress do not ever give up.
The last myth to discuss may not really be a myth as such but has more to do with the outdated and inefficient stroke recovery exercises that patients are given. The last 20 years has seen huge leaps forward in areas of brain research and subsequently stroke rehabilitation. The people at the top of stroke rehabilitation are doing some really ground breaking things. Unfortunately it takes time for this top end information to assimilate down to the masses, so as a consequence many stroke survivors do not get exposed to the best stroke recovery techniques like constraint induced therapy or mirror therapy.
Unfortunately there are many myths surrounding stroke recovery. I hope this article has helped to educate and open your mind up to the truth about your stroke rehabilitation and how you should be approaching it. At times stroke rehab can be a very daunting task, filled with too much science, jargon and technique that may be difficult to understand. I have made it my goal to try and make available the best stroke recovery techniques to stroke survivors, their family members, care givers and health care practitioners.
This can be for a number of reasons. Unfortunately changing mainstream beliefs is a very challenging thing to do. These beliefs are propagated in the media and discussed, and unfortunately they get cemented in people's belief systems and are very hard to change. You can see this type of dogmatic thinking in the exercise and weight loss industry. This article will serve to dispel some of the usual stroke recovery myths. Firstly, the belief that the brain cannot change. This one belief really goes against the corner stone of the whole stroke recovery premise and it is totally wrong. Secondly and as a sort of carry on from the first myth, the myth that there is only a small window of opportunity to recovery from a stroke, I have heard anywhere from 6 weeks to 1 year and after that you cannot make any more progress. And lastly, that there are not more efficient ways to perform stroke rehabilitation.
I cannot believe that myth number one still gets any credence. Some people still feel that the brain is set in stone and cannot change. We see the brain changing all the time and at every age. Every time we learn something new, the brain has changed. For example for you to learn a new skill such as like playing tennis requires your brain to change. As you improve, your co-ordination gets better, your speed improves and your accuracy sharpens all this must be reflected by changes in your brain and nervous system. The brain controls everything, and when changes happen like the previously mentioned tennis ones, the brain must have changed. This myth has been dispelled by science and neurology and as a far as I am concerned is really, pardon the pun, a no brainer to argue against.
Another commonly held myth about stroke recovery is that recovery can only happen in a small time period after the stroke and once that window is closed any further recovery is impossible. As a carry on from the point above, that the brain can change at anytime, this is once again just a myth. I don't discredit that making progress could be easier if stroke rehabilitation is started earlier but to say that it cannot be made after a magical window has closed is absurd. I have heard of some individuals 10 years after their stroke, who have been at a certain level of recovery and were then exposed to advanced stroke recovery methods and made more progress at that stage of their recovery than previously. The brain is capable of change at any time and if you are a stroke survivor and wanting more progress do not ever give up.
The last myth to discuss may not really be a myth as such but has more to do with the outdated and inefficient stroke recovery exercises that patients are given. The last 20 years has seen huge leaps forward in areas of brain research and subsequently stroke rehabilitation. The people at the top of stroke rehabilitation are doing some really ground breaking things. Unfortunately it takes time for this top end information to assimilate down to the masses, so as a consequence many stroke survivors do not get exposed to the best stroke recovery techniques like constraint induced therapy or mirror therapy.
Unfortunately there are many myths surrounding stroke recovery. I hope this article has helped to educate and open your mind up to the truth about your stroke rehabilitation and how you should be approaching it. At times stroke rehab can be a very daunting task, filled with too much science, jargon and technique that may be difficult to understand. I have made it my goal to try and make available the best stroke recovery techniques to stroke survivors, their family members, care givers and health care practitioners.
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