The primary goals of stroke management are to reduce brain injury and promote maximum patient recovery. Rapid detection and appropriate emergency medical care are essential for optimizing health outcomes. When available, patients are admitted to an acute stroke unit for treatment. These units specialize in providing medical and surgical care aimed at stabilizing the patient's medical status. Standardized assessments are also performed to aid in the development of an appropriate care plan. Current research suggests that stroke units may be effective in reducing in-hospital fatality rates and the length of hospital stays.
Once a patient is medically stable, the focus of their recovery shifts to rehabilitation. Some patients are transferred to in-patient rehabilitation programs, while others may be referred to out-patient services or home-based care. In-patient programs are usually facilitated by an interdisciplinary team that may include a physician, nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech and language pathologist, psychologist, and recreation therapist. The patient and their family/caregivers also play an integral role on this team. Family/caregivers that are involved in the patient care tend to be prepared for the caregiving role as the patient transitions from rehabilitation centers. While at the rehabilitation center, the interdisciplinary team makes sure that the patient attains their maximum functional potential upon discharge. The primary goals of this sub-acute phase of recovery include preventing secondary health complications, minimizing impairments, and achieving functional goals that promote independence in activities of daily living.
In the later phases of stroke recovery, patients are encouraged to participate in secondary prevention programs for stroke. Follow-up is usually facilitated by the patient's primary care provider.
The initial severity of impairments and individual characteristics, such as motivation, social support, and learning ability, are key predictors of stroke recovery outcomes.
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Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body (hemi- means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medical conditions, including congenital causes, trauma, tumors, or stroke. Depending on the type of hemiparesis diagnosed, different bodily functions can be affected. Some effects are expected (e.g., partial paralysis of a limb on the affected side).
The hands, our silent performers in daily life, face overwhelming challenges when neurological impairments disrupt the simple tasks that compose our daily symphony. This thesis unveils a comprehensive framework for the objective monitoring of upper-limb re ...
EPFL2024
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ABS T R A C T BACKGROUND: Upper limb (UL) motor impairment following stroke is a leading cause of functional limitations in activities of daily living. Robot-assisted therapy supports rehabilitation, but how its efficacy and the underlying neural mechanism ...
Gait impairments is a common condition in post-stroke subjects. We recently presented a wearable ankle exoskeleton called G-Exos, which showed that the device assisted in the ankle's dorsiflexion and inversion/reversion movements. The aim of the current pi ...