How to Recover From Strokes in the Brain

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, either momentarily or for a longer period of time, according to the Patient UK website. The damage caused depends on where and for how long the brain is starved of its vital blood supply, and the time it takes to recover is different for everyone. However, rehabilitation is part of every stroke sufferer's treatment program.

Instructions

• 1

  Improve brain function. Depending on the nature of your stroke and the part of the brain that was affected, you may need professional help to restore your speech, ability to understand when others speak, memory retention and/or concentration, according to the Stroke Rehab Online website. This rehabilitation phase is likely to include counseling to help you come to terms with your stroke. All these efforts are known as cognitive therapy, which includes any rehabilitation that does not involve physical movement.

• 2

  Restore physical ability. Physiotherapy will usually start with improving your ability to perform basic, daily functions such as feeding and dressing yourself, as well as maintaining personal hygiene, according to the Stroke Rehab Online website. Different parts of the brain control different limbs and muscles in the body, so your post-stroke physical impairments will depend on which part of your brain is injured, according to the Patient UK website. But some of the most common symptoms and side effects of a stroke are loss of movement of an arm, leg or both --- usually on the same side. A physiotherapist will usually design a physical rehabilitation program tailored to your needs.

• 3

  Persevere. Every stroke is different, but recovery will almost always take some time, according to the Patient UK website. In the first weeks after a stroke, basic actions you once performed without thinking may take a great deal of concentration and practice, but it is not unusual for some abilities to be restored once the initial swelling in the brain has eased. However, it could take an additional six months to become independent of caretakers, and it is likely that some degree of disability will remain.