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Regaining Use of an Arm After a Stroke

Most stroke survivors lose at least partial use of one arm after suffering a stroke. While some individuals spontaneously recover the use of the arm within three to six months, others have to go through intense exercise and therapy to regain the use of the arm. No matter what type of therapy you choose to participate in, the most important aspect of rehabilitation after a stroke is patience. While doctors initially believed that maximum recovery was reached after a year, new therapies have proven to have positive effects on survivors long after the stroke.

  1. Forced Therapy

    • Forced therapy is designed to immobilize your good arm, while engaging in intensive physical therapy to strengthen the weak one. The idea behind this type of therapy is to allow the brain to rewire itself and send more signals to the weakened arm to help it recover. Every day you are forced to use your weak arm to use a towel, brush your teeth or hold a book. Some patients have even developed the ability to write again through this type of therapy.

    Robo Rehab Device

    • The Myomo e100 NeuroRobotic System was introduced at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital and is designed to send electrical impulses to the muscles in the arm to provide patients with motorized assistance. This device was created to challenge the conventional belief involving the short window period of rehabilitation. The Robo Rehab Device gives the brain an opportunity to form new connections with the affected limb and improve control over the weakened arm.

    Exercises

    • There are a variety of exercises that a physical therapist or physician will suggest to help you regain use of your arm after a stroke. A good and simple exercise to begin with is to shrug your shoulders up and down in a repetitive motion. While this begins to strengthen the shoulder muscles, you can hold a ball in your weakened arm and extend it all the way to the side. Keeping your arm straight, bring your arm from the side to the front of your body and back again to begin. This starts the process of regaining movement in your arm. After soaking your fingers and hand in warm water, do simple exercises, such as working on a puzzle or holding small objects in your hand. While some of these exercises may be difficult at first, the more you practice and focus, the sooner you'll regain use of your arm.

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