Rehabilitation is an integral part of recovery for those who have suffered from a stroke. While rehab usually takes place in an in-patient or out-patient facility, there are specific times when it can be done at home. This option is usually limited to persons who don’t need the specialized procedures or equipment that medical facilities will provide. If you’re considering this option, here’s what you need to know.
As you might expect, your doctor is the one who makes the final decision regarding home-based rehab. This decision will be based on what you will need during your recovery.
When you’re undergoing rehab at an in-patient or out-patient facility, you’d be able to work with a team of healthcare specialists including a range of physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, therapeutic specialists, speech-language pathologists, and psychologists.
With at-home rehab, you would only be assigned a physical therapist. Additionally, doing rehab within a facility gives you access to important procedures such as functional muscle electrical stimulation, non-invasive brain stimulation, and new biological therapies.
Bear in mind that your health insurance provider may only cover at-home rehab in certain situations as well.
Since you’ll be working with a physical therapist, your at-home rehab will be focused on your functional mobility. Before starting rehab, though, you can expect the therapist to assess the level of care you’ll need. This assessment will establish important areas such as your strength, mobility, range of motion, balance, and muscle tone. The results will act as a guide for where the therapy needs to start and the expectations for your progress.
As they’re working with you, the physical therapist will walk you through exercises that improve your ability to get out of bed, maintain a proper gait while walking, maintain your balance, and move from one surface to another.
Special exercises such as constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) may be used to improve the function in a limb that was affected by the stroke.
The physical therapist may also work on your fine motor skills through the use of
mirror therapy for hand recovery. This therapy is used to improve your hand’s functionality if it was affected by the stroke.
Apart from working with you to improve your mobility, the physical therapist may also suggest exercises you can do that will complement at-home rehab. These exercises are meant to strengthen your muscles, increase flexibility, build endurance, and improve balance, among other things.
Some examples of possible exercises include straight leg raises, bridge poses, standing balance exercises, seated leg extensions, and range of motion exercises.
Even if these exercises have not been specifically recommended, it’s a good idea to ask your therapist about what activities you can do on your own that will help your recovery.
On top of remaining active, don’t forget about eating well and sleeping properly as they’re vital to being healthy as well.
It’s important to note that many people deal with bouts of depression and anxiety while recovering from a stroke. If this is happening to you, reach out to a psychologist or therapist that can help you. Talking to your doctor about counseling options during rehab can help.
While it’s understandable why you would want to do rehab from the comfort of your home, it’s not ideal for everyone. If you need to see multiple specialists or receive procedures such as deep brain stimulation, that situation will not work for you.
With that said, however, that may change as your recovery progresses so it’s best to ask your doctor at regular intervals if you can switch to home-based care.
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