15.01.2024 – 09:00
Word & Image Publishing Group – health reports
Baierbrunn (ots)
A stroke is a stroke of fate that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy – one of the most common causes of death and, for many, a burden that they carry for the rest of their lives. Around 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke every year, reports the German Stroke Society ( And yet there is no reason for those affected to despair. New therapies offer opportunities where doctors could do little in the early 1990s. The health magazine ” Pharmacy Umschau” shows which methods are used in rehabilitation today.
Chance of a life without outside help
Although acute therapies are more sophisticated today, a stroke often leaves people disabled. However, if you act quickly and train in a targeted manner, you can often live an independent life after the stroke. By training the lost skills, disabilities can at least be significantly alleviated. And even if everything doesn’t go back to what it used to be, many of those affected have the chance to live their lives without outside help.
First, the treatment goals should be determined. Whether those affected go directly from the acute hospital to rehabilitation depends on the severity of the stroke. An individual therapy plan is drawn up in the rehabilitation clinic. Prof. Dr. Anna Gorsler, the medical director of the specialist neurological clinics in Beelitz-Heilstätten, emphasizes how important this is: “An exercise person might say: Nothing is more important to me than being able to walk again.” That is then the main goal of this person. Another patient may be happy to be able to read a book while sitting in an armchair again.
Recognizing swallowing disorders is very important
Physiotherapy is primarily about learning to stand and walk again. First, those affected are examined and their complaints are weighted using standardized assessments. “For example, the decisive factor in choosing the training method is whether the person can already walk independently or not. And if not, how much support they need,” says Gorsler.
Understanding and speaking are often impaired after a stroke. Speech therapists therefore begin the first speaking exercises as soon as possible. Particularly important: recognizing and treating swallowing disorders. Around 50 percent suffer from an acute swallowing disorder after a stroke. For many it goes away again, around 25 percent have problems for a longer period of time. Other important measures include neuropsychology to identify complex disorders, or occupational therapy, in which those affected learn to use their upper limbs again in everyday life.
This report is only free for publication if the source is cited. The health magazine “Apotheken Umschau” 1B/2024 is currently available in most pharmacies. There is lots of other interesting health news at and on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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Original content from: Wort & Bild Verlagsgruppe – health reports, transmitted by news aktuell