Physiotherapy

Stroke survivors will normally be left with a problem with movement after their stroke. Chris is right-side paralysed. When we think of someone being paralysed in this way we assume that this would mean just the arm and leg, when in fact it goes further than that. Chris has brain damage to his 'motor sensory' areas on the left side of his brain, this means that whole parts of movement have been affected as the brain is not able to send signals to his limbs to move. This also affected his mouth and eye (right side) and why stroke survivors are often left with a drupe. So, he is unable to move all muscle parts of the right side of his body, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, fingers, waist and hips and all the way down the leg, foot, ankle and toes. Physiotherapy is vital to keep the muscles strengthened and not lose 'bulk' of the muscles. Chris received Physiotherapy whilst in hospital on a regular basis; the problems arose on his return home. I had to fight and complain to get him continual Physiotherapy within the 'community' (as it is known). This was sparse after a few months and I feel as though the NHS 'dumped' him. It is vital that a complete review and overall of NHS aftercare for stroke survivors is reviewed urgently. Without this treatment stroke survivors are being doomed to a life of non-movement and a wheelchair bound existence.

If you agree with my points please join me in a campaign to ask the Government (see section on Government where I am collecting a list of those who support this view to use as part of my campaign to lobby for a change) to urgently review this so called, 'care in the community', again a postcode lottery, (this is my own view; you may have a different one).

Chris now has a private Physiotherapist who works with him on a weekly basis. I have written more about the approach that is taken below.

What is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function to as near normal as possible when someone is affected by injury, illness or by developmental or other disability. They work in a wide variety of health settings such as intensive care, mental illness, stroke recovery, occupational health, and care of the elderly.

A more formal definition of physiotherapy is that it uses physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological and social wellbeing, taking account of variations in health status and is science based.

Most Physiotherapists who work with stroke survivors are trained in neurological (brain) conditions. They will assess the individual person's impairment and use exercise programmes to improve mobility and strengthen muscles, manipulation, mobilisation and massage to reduce pain and stiffness. They play an important part in the rehabilitation process.

Chris's Physiotherapist (http://www.icphysio.com) viewed Chris's impairment from a different angle, that of, if the brain is unable to tell the muscles to move why don't we work on the muscles learning the movement and then the brain will learn that movement. Her training is not just in neurologically impaired adults but also in sports injuries.

The NHS provided Chris with a calliper for his right leg, this works by supporting the foot and leg through the use of a form of splint, they also have other forms of leg support but this was deemed the best one for Chris. His Physiotherapist has replaced the calliper with a foot support that pulls onto his foot like a sock. This enables him to wear any shoe or slipper whereas the calliper would only be useful with the shoe it is attached too.

The Physiotherapist does exercises and massaging during her weekly visits. Chris's carers are supported in completing daily massages to his leg, foot, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand and fingers to support maintenance of the muscles.

Chris is able to walk a very short distance using a quad- stick and with someone with him, but as yet, unable to move his arm or hand, we all continue to work on these areas.

Some supporting organisations

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy: www.csp.org.uk

Supporting Stroke is a UK based independent help and resource website for stroke