more stroke recovery tips

Hello!!   I want to share another set of tips with you today. Again, I found more from Flint Rehab, “25 Stroke Recovery Tips for Healing, Habits, and Happiness,” dated January 7, 2019. Gosh, I must say it caught my eye at first because of the alliteration in the title!  Please be sure to read the entire article when you get a chance. I will give you the highlights here and my comments with them.They start with 9 Healing Tips.

• Neuroplasticity - rewire your brain - retrain your brain!! I have mentioned this many times before and I will probably mention it many times again!! I tell Tom all the time that I am talking to the parts of my body with my brain because of this!! One thing that Flint Rehab has recommended in this article is a book called The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. I just ordered it on Amazon and it arrives Thursday. I am looking forward to reading it. It received great reviews! I will let you know what I think of it once it arrives and I read it.
• Nutrition - they recommend whole foods such as vegetables, nuts and whole grains. And they suggest we avoid processed food. I am trying to do my best! I will make sure that the recipes I offer are healthy and nutritious as well. And they also recommend taking vitamins, with your doctor’s approval.
• “Don’t Fall for the False Stroke Recovery Plateau” - the plateau really occurs. Your results can slow down after the first few months or so, but don’t judge it as a finale! Keep your rehab going but try changing up the exercises a bit. That’s what I do. Or I even change the daily “agenda” of the exercise routine to get some variety in the mix.
• Avoid Permanent “Lopsidedness” - remember the phrase “use it or lose it?” If you don’t use your affected limb, your brain will completely forget about it! That’s why I must always remind myself to use my right arm - shoulder/elbow/wrist/hand/fingers - as often and as much as possible. When I am carrying things or hanging up clothes or buttoning/zipping clothes, I need to allow my right arm to do what it can!
• Permanently Treat Spasticity - I’ve dealt with this before (again, remember neuroplasticity).
• Try Different Rehab Methods - check with friends and support groups for other ideas in your area.
• Sleep - you need to make sure you are getting enough sleep during your recovery. Sleep helps your brain recoup so much! And it helps with fatigue, irritability and much more that builds up.
• Avoid Another Stroke - since stroke survivors are at a higher risk of having another stroke, do what you can to prevent that from happening. Be aware of what caused your previous stroke, like high blood pressure or way too much stress, and lower it.
• Use an AFO, if you suffer from foot drop - I use an AFO and it certainly has made a huge difference in my ability to walk and stay balanced. In fact I have two.

Then there are 6 Tips on Mindset Stroke Recovery, 3 Stroke Recovery Tips on Habits and 7 Stroke Recovery Tips on Happiness. I will point these out in an upcoming post of mine.

GOD BLESS! Peg

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou
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