Can A Stroke Be Treated and Cured?

Of course, recovery after a stroke can be a slow process, affecting many daily activities. However, we now know that recovery function can continue to occur months, and even years, following a stroke.

SyreboCare encourages patients to perform basic hand exercises at the beginning of the rehabilitation process. This is because, after a stroke, the part of your brain that controls your hand has been damaged. For your brain to make new connections to your hand we need to help facilitate neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is fancy terminology that refers to your brain making new connections and pathways in your brain to do the work that the damaged part of the brain was responsible for. This then leads to the next question… how do I help neuroplasticity? This answer is relativity simple. It would help if you had mass repetitions to help the brain make these new connections with your hand.

The chances of hand recovery increase with consistent practice and repetition of rehabilitation exercises.

Fundamentals of Hand Recovery After Stroke

Here are some ways a stroke can affect the hand and hinder daily activities:

• Hemiparesis or Hemiplegia

Hemiparesis refers to weakness on one side of the body, while hemiplegia indicates paralysis on one side. A stroke affecting the motor regions of the brain can lead to weakness or paralysis of the muscles on the opposite side of the body from the affected brain hemisphere. This often means that the hand and arm on one side of the body may be significantly weakened or nonfunctional.

• Motor Impairments

Strokes can result in weakness or paralysis of the muscles in the hand, making it difficult to grasp, grip, and manipulate objects. This can significantly impact tasks such as dressing, eating, writing, and personal hygiene.

• Sensory Changes

Stroke-related damage to the sensory pathways can lead to altered or decreased sensation in the hand. Individuals may have difficulty sensing temperature, texture, and pain.

• Coordination and Dexterity

Stroke can disrupt the fine motor control of the hand, affecting activities that require precise movements, such as buttoning shirts, using utensils, and typing on a keyboard.

• Spasticity

Some stroke survivors may experience spasticity, a condition characterized by stiff and involuntary muscle contractions. This can interfere with the ability to open and close the hand smoothly.

Hand Rehabilitation Exercise

There are two main techniques and exercises that can help speed the recovery of the hand up:

• Repetitive hand exercises

Repetitive hand exercises are the most important step to hand recovery after a stroke. An occupational therapist will provide exercises that will strengthen the overall wrist, hand and fingers. It is important to perform these exercises as prescribed. Repetitive exercises are important to retrain your brain after a stroke, which we know based on the theory of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to rewire itself by finding alternative pathways for the area of the brain that was damaged secondary to a stroke. For the brain to rewire itself, it is important to perform repetitive movements.

• Consistent exercise program

Consistency AND dosage are both important for lasting change to take place in an individual’s range of motion, coordination and timing. Repetition, consistency and high levels of engagement are often cited as key determinants in successful stroke rehabilitation.

At-Home Therapy Devices for Stroke

Now SyreboCare offers at-home therapy gadgets that can assist people to enhance their ability to function with their hands as well as their motor skills. These remedies made exclusively for recovering from strokes will help you diminish your rehab time and move on towards restoring movement in your hands.

SYREBO Rehabilitation Glove

At times, rehabilitation exercises can feel tedious, or you may become frustrated if you experience occasional plateaus in your progress. To help achieve the high repetition necessary for hand recovery after stroke, you can try fun, high-tech devices like Rehabilitation Robot Gloves.

The SyreboCare Glove is a low-profile, lightweight glove that helps clients suffering from neurological and orthopedic injuries incorporate their hand functionally in therapy and at home which may lead to improved motor recovery and functional independence. The proprietary tension system has elastic bands that offer various tensions for individual finger joints. The tension system extends the client’s fingers and thumb following grasping and assists with hand opening.

Rehabilitation Robot Gloves are clinically proven to improve hand function within 2 weeks as they make exercise more engaging and can motivate you to accomplish hundreds of repetitions per exercise session.

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Mirror Therapy

Mirror therapy is another technique that can be used to maximize hand recovery after stroke, especially for individuals who have minimal hand function. This is a standard hand recovery method for individuals with severe hand paralysis and is also highly effective for reducing clenched hands after a stroke.

Mirror therapy involves placing a tabletop mirror over your affected hand so that it reflects your unaffected hand. Rehabilitation exercises are then performed with your unaffected hand as you watch the reflection in the mirror, “tricking” your brain into thinking you’re moving your affected hand.

This technique can spark neuroplasticity and help you create new neural pathways, allowing you to regain movement or fine motor skills in your affected hand. As with other techniques, repetition and consistency are necessary for mirror therapy to be an effective treatment.

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Electrical Stimulation

Electrical stimulation involves using electrical currents via electrodes placed on the skin to provide stimulation to your nerves and muscles. This therapy technique amplifies the stimulation your brain receives and can help enhance neuroplasticity, improving the rewiring of new motor pathways.

Electrical stimulation is a commonly used method to help patients recover from paralysis after stroke and can be applied to the hands, wrists, and arms to promote muscle activation and stimulation. There is widespread evidence to support the use of electrical stimulation for hand recovery after stroke. Talk with your doctor or therapist before beginning this treatment to determine if electrical stimulation is appropriate for you.

It is important to note that electrical stimulation is most effective when paired with rehab exercises. Sometimes referred to as functional electrical stimulation or FES, this specific type of electrical stimulation is applied to your muscles to increase contraction while you perform a series of exercises or tasks. This maximizes muscle activation and enhances neuroplasticity, promoting recovery of fine motor skills and lost function.

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So, in conclusion, it is never too late to start rehabilitation after a stroke. Don't give up hope. Get in touch with our team to learn about more effective hand exercise tools. Set yourself a challenge and try to do one more repetition a day!