Inpatient Rehab Facility Is the Best Option for Stroke Recovery

A set of new guidelines were released on adult stroke rehabilitation needing intensive and multidisciplinary treatment. According to a joint statement from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, rehabilitation after a stroke needs "a sustained and coordinated effort" by a team of professionals, and the best place to get that is an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Science Daily reported that patients and caregivers should receive a formal falls-prevention program before leaving the hospital to make sure that accidents are avoided at home. It was also stated that an initial rehabilitation should take place in an inpatient rehabilitation facility rather than a nursing home, if possible.

"The very first post-stroke rehab guidelines were published in 1995," but these are the first commissioned by the AHA in collaboration with the ASA, said lead author Carolee J. Winstein, professor of biokinesiology and physical therapy at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles.

The author wrote that without communication and coordination among the team members, "efforts to rehabilitate the stroke survivor are unlikely to achieve their full potential." Winstein also said that previous guidelines were more focused on the medical issues involved in the initial management of stroke, though there were many people who survive a stroke with some level of disability. She added saying, "There is increasing evidence that rehabilitation can have a big impact on the survivors' quality of life, so the time is right to review the evidence in this complex field and highlight effective and important aspects of rehabilitation."

According to Fox News, the new scientific statement was made to recommend that stroke patients not be discharged from the hospital until they have participated in an actual structured fall-prevention program. This should include safety measures at home like removing throw rugs, improving lighting, and minimizing the risk of falls that may be the side effect of medications. It was also mentioned that the fall-prevention program training the patients in the safe use of wheelchairs, walkers and canes.

Patients should also receive mobility-task training, a tailored exercise program, and engage in cognitive activities like using a computer, reading and listening to music. These can be done in an inpatient rehab facility since it includes a multidisciplinary team working together on medical, physical, occupational, neuropsychological and speech therapy, and patients can focus on eye exercises, balance training or other areas based on their needs.

Winstein also said that when you are in an inpatient rehab facility, you have a team working with you and your family, something that you won't get if you were in a skilled nursing facility. Inpatient therapy requires a minimum of three hours of therapy per day, and not every stroke patient will be able to handle that workload initially, Winstein said.