Tag: Endurance

Why Physiotherapy Is So Important in Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke rehabilitation is sometimes an uphill climb. After a stroke, patients can be left with paralysis, especially one-sided paralysis. Pain, as well as sensory deficits, has to be managed. Physiotherapy is a key part of the treatment plan.

Physiotherapists begin stroke rehabilitation very soon after the stroke has occurred, while the patient is still in acute care. The physiotherapist will first do an evaluation to determine what disabilities must be dealt with during stroke rehabilitation.

Some of the possible problems are: lack of strength and endurance, limited range of motion, problems with sensation in the limbs, and troubles walking. Stroke rehabilitation will focus on the problems that the patient displays. A plan for treatment will be devised.

Patients will learn to use limbs that the stroke has made temporarily useless. During stroke rehabilitation, it will be determined whether these limbs will reach their previous potential. If not, the physiotherapist will teach the patients ways to manage without their full use of the limbs.

One problem of stroke rehabilitation is called learned nonuse. This is when stroke patients do everything in their power to avoid using limbs that have been affected by the stroke. If left to their own devices, they will cripple the limb further by letting it atrophy through nonuse.

Physiotherapists use stroke rehabilitation to make sure that patients do indeed work to use their impaired limbs. They can do this in a number of ways. Sometimes it helps for the physiotherapist to tap or stroke the limb they want the patient to use.

If the patient will not easily participate in active range of motion exercises, passive ones can be used where the physiotherapist moves the limb herself. Other times, the patient will try to use the affected limb but will naturally fall back on the limb that is functioning well. In this case, stroke rehabilitation may involve gently restraining the healthy limbs.

It can be a difficult task of stroke rehabilitation to help victims relearn switching from one task to another. This is partly because of problems in the brain. The cues to move the muscles and joints in order to change movements are slow in coming. This is why practice is so important. The more times physiotherapists help a patient with this, the easier it becomes.

Recent studies have revealed that stroke rehabilitation can continue long after the hospital stay. In the past, stroke victims were given a short round of physiotherapy during the time they were in the hospital and for a few weeks shortly afterwards.

New research shows that physiotherapy can promote more advanced stroke rehabilitation if it is continued progressively at home. Patients will learn to walk better. They will gain strength to do daily chores. They will also achieve better posture and more balance, which can prevent falls.

Stroke rehabilitation involves a number of therapies, all designed to restore function to the patient’s affected limbs. Electrical stimulation, hydrotherapy, and games have all been used. Stroke rehabilitation is not complete without the help of physiotherapy services.

What Happens After Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy can be a long, hard road. It takes willpower and endurance to keep at it. The mere act of keeping appointments can be grueling at times. One may feel like celebrating when it is all over; but what comes after physiotherapy?

The physiotherapist will leave you with words of advice to follow after your physiology is over. One important thing to keep in mind is that any exercises you are doing should be remembered for relapses.

For example, if you have a problem with a vertebra in your neck, physical therapy can often help. After physiotherapy, though, the neck might start getting stiff and painful again. Remembering and doing the physical therapy exercises may stop the condition from getting any worse, and may in fact alleviate it completely.

You will also be instructed on the proper use of heat packs and ice packs. It will be a refresher course for you, but you will be on your own, so you need to pay attention. You will be told to go to the doctor at the first sign of relapse after physiotherapy.

Prevention will be an important concern after physiotherapy. The last thing you need is to have to go through the process again. You can take certain steps to avoid physical injuries that would require you to go back.

Aerobic exercise is very beneficial both during and after physiotherapy. It strengthens the muscles, increases oxygen to the muscles, and helps you lose weight. Aerobic exercises you can do include walking, running, swimming, or bicycling. Any exercise that gets you breathing heavily and your heart rate up will do.

In injuries like low back pain, weight loss can be a factor. It can mean less stress on your bones and muscles. Therefore, diet can play an important role in prevention after physiotherapy. It does not have to be an elaborate diet; just a simple diet that limits foods, especially the carbohydrates and fats.

Other preventative features of life after physiotherapy involve the workplace. One needs to learn the proper movements to get the job done. If it seems that it is impossible, it is a legal right to call for an ergonomics study. Another thing to consider is to make sure you use all the ergonomic equipment that is already available in your office or workplace. There may be ergonomic keyboards in a storage room, if you would only ask.

One also needs to learn one’s limitations. No more trying to lift a two-hundred pound object by yourself. After physiotherapy one knows what can happen when one does not take care of one’s body properly. It only makes sense to stay away from anything that can harm you in the way you were hurt before.

Life after physiotherapy may be a more cautious affair than is was before. One may have to think before acting. No matter what one does, it is possible that a return to physiotherapy will take place. The best thing to do is to do your best to make all the right moves after physiotherapy.

Benefits of Exercises and Yoga Stretches for Lower Back Pain

Benefits of Exercises and Yoga Stretches for Lower Back Pain

As more and more people ask more and more from their bodies, injuries to their bodies are becoming a normal part of our society. Things like the X games, where skateboarders and bicyclists attempt death defying feats, on their skateboards and bikes, are becoming commonplace. Even regular sports like football and baseball can result in cringe inducing videos of athletes getting hurt.

If these people, arguably in top physical condition, can get hurt, you and I don’t stand much of a chance do we? Sadly, lower back pain is a part of many people’s lives. That’s why exercises and yoga stretches for lower back pain are becoming increasingly popular with every passing day. Yoga stretches, along with normal bodily exercise, are certainly a good route to go; when you are suffering from lower back pain.

Exercise, combined with a good, nutritious diet and plenty of rest, is something everyone should do on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it takes something like a lower back injury, for people to realize just how frail their bodies are. By that time, it’s too late. The damage has already been done. We just have to fix it as best as we can and do everything in power to prevent it from happening again or getting worse down the road.

When you combine exercise and yoga stretches for lower back pain together, you get two excellent tools in your arsenal of healing. Exercise is great for building up strength and endurance. Yoga is perfect for maintaining elasticity and flexibility; two great attributes every muscle should have.

Elasticity will allow your muscles to extend and flex over and over again without causing any tears. Flexibility is needed when you need to over extend or over flex your muscles. It allows them to twist and turn whenever you need them to. Where most people would strain or sprain a muscle, yoga keeps your muscles limber enough to handle the task without injury.

Bodily exercise and yoga stretches for the lower back help not only the part of your lower back that’s causing pain. But they help the entire rest of your body, too. Any type of exercise can get your heart rate up. An increased heart rate can help you burn off calories and fat, resulting in a leaner, stronger you. It can also keep your entire cardiovascular system running more effectively, letting your heart pump more efficiently. That can lead to less chance of a heart attack down the road.

Much like exercise, whenever you do yoga, you will be using more than just your lower back muscles. All of your muscles will receive the benefits of yoga as you move from one yoga position to the next. Each of your muscles will become more limber and flexible, allowing all of them to twist and bend more smoothly and efficiently whenever you require it.

As you can see, the benefits you receive from exercises and yoga stretches, for lower back pain affect far more than just your lower back.