Here’s a quick read article from our Specialist Therapist Kev…
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“I’ve Been Discharged From Hospital… What Do I Do Now?”
You really don’t know how many times I’ve heard that in the clinic or with my community work.
Now is the time to be as active as you can. Just because you’ve had a stroke doesn’t mean you have to sit at home and wait for the NHS Physio, or your community contact to be in touch.
This might take some time… So what can you do till then?
A stroke means you’ve often lost up to 80% of your cardio capacity so quite simply the best thing is to get up and do as much as you can…
Walk to the shops, walk around the house, go wherever you can. Even if you have to have someone with you drag them along as well. Getting out the house will make you feel better as well.
A stroke often leaves you with 50% reduction in your movement efficiency but think of that as an advantage – you can now walk for 10 minutes and get the same cardio benefit as you previously did by doing 20 minutes.
And the more you do then the better you’ll get, your muscles will get stronger your confidence will return.
You’ll notice great improvement when you first start but don’t worry if you suddenly stop, change the way you do it and your body will respond – it’s as simple as doing it in the afternoon rather than on the morning.
Also a stroke doesn’t mean the end of using your affected side – it just means you’ve got to re-train it.
Nerves usually go in the quickest route to get to your arm, hand, and legs to make them move but that routes now gone, so do you stop? What I like to do is find a new route – just like a river would.
That’s what physiotherapy does for you and it’s my job to help you do exactly that here in the clinic.
But I’ll tell you more about that next time in part 2 🙂
So get out there and do as much as you can that’s safe, and drag your friends and family members along to help.
It really is a case of – if you don’t use it you will lose it (or in your case, won’t get it back).
Until next time…
Kev 🙂
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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