Exercises to restore movement after a stroke. Acute stage of the disease. How to do the exercises

Many patients manage to return to work after a stroke and lead a normal life. The main condition is activity, perseverance, self-confidence. And the most important thing is movement, movement, movement. Even a bedridden patient after a stroke can and should do restorative exercises at home. And if he cannot, due to complete immobility, then those who care for him should do the patient passive gymnastics.
Here are several examples from the newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH”, how paralyzed bedridden patients after a stroke were able to fully recover from disabilities into full-fledged people. As well as advice on rehabilitation and care for paralyzed patients.

Even more stories with a happy ending in the article

Caring for paralyzed patients after a stroke at home - Doctor's advice.

In the first days after a stroke, a paralyzed patient is doomed to complete immobility. It is especially difficult to care for paralyzed patients at home. To prevent pulmonary edema, a bedridden patient should be turned in bed every 2 hours. If the condition improves, sit him down in bed for a few minutes. If the patient is conscious, it is necessary to force him to do breathing exercises; at home, they are most often given to inflate inflatable toys.
To prevent bedsores from forming in a paralyzed bedridden patient after a stroke, it is necessary to wipe the skin daily camphor alcohol or a mixture of vodka and shampoo. If damage to the patient’s skin does occur, it is necessary to wipe them with a solution of potassium permanganate and lubricate them with rosehip oil.
With a paralyzed patient after a stroke at home, even if he is completely immobilized, it is necessary to carry out passive gymnastics, this prevents blood stagnation and thrombophlebitis. The patient's arms and legs must be bent, extended, lifted and massaged.
You need to constantly talk to the patient, even if it seems to you that he does not understand the words addressed to him. This will allow you to recover faster logical thinking and speech. Good care caring for a paralyzed patient will help avoid secondary stroke. (HLS 2001, No. 3, p. 8-, from a conversation with Dr. MN Kadykov A.S.)

Mental gymnastics after a stroke.
“Mental gymnastics” helps patients recover; even paralyzed patients after a stroke can do it in the hospital and at home. You can restore the central nervous regulation that controls the motor activity of the affected areas of the body by creating a mental image of a particular exercise.
Imagine that you clench your fingers into a fist, lift your feet up, and lower them down. The clearer the “picture”, the faster connections are formed with other parts of the brain, which will take over the functions of nervous regulation of the areas of the body affected by paralysis.
Each mental exercise leaves its mark on the brain; when repeated, a chain of such traces is created and a new center of nerve connections that control movement is formed.
Depending on the severity of brain damage, the will of the patient, patience and perseverance, the process of building new connections can take a month or a year. You also need unconditional faith in the power of mental training. Whether this faith is true or false, it will work miracles. Set goals and go towards them. (HLS 2002, No. 13, p. 19. Boris Goryachev, doctor)

Where to start rehabilitation exercises after a stroke - Stages of rehabilitation
1st stage
From the first hours of the acute period of stroke, positional treatment is used to avoid contractures of paralyzed limbs. Also, relatives or medical staff perform passive gymnastics for a paralyzed patient.
2nd stage
By the end of the first week after a stroke, active rehabilitation exercises are prescribed, a set of exercises of which is developed by exercise therapy instructors in the hospital. It is first performed in isometric mode, without movement in the joints. An assistant lifts the sore limbs, and the patient’s goal is to hold the raised arm or leg. The arm must not be raised by the wrist. If the sore arm is raised by the sore arm himself, with the sore healthy arm, he should lift it by the elbow, turn the hand palm up; if an assistant raises the arm, then with one hand he grasps it above the elbow from below, and with the other hand he grabs the wrist from above.
3rd stage
The patient is taught to sit. They start with 3-5 minutes reclining, placing pillows under the back and head, after 2-3 days the bedridden patient is transferred to a semi-vertical position.
Then they sit on the bed with their legs down, placing a bench under them.
4th stage
Strengthening the leg muscles. Exercises are carried out using an expander or a frog pump to inflate rubber mattresses. In a lying position, they do the “imitation walking” exercise - the legs bend and straighten at the knees, the soles of the feet slide along the sheet.
5th stage
Walking. Sick from sitting position tries to stand up, holding onto a stable support - the headboard of the bed, a nearby chair or armchair. When the patient learns to stand confidently, he should begin to shift from foot to foot. Having mastered this exercise, you can move on to walking in place, holding the headboard of the bed. Then they try to walk in place without support.
Gymnastics after a stroke for the arms.
Simultaneously with exercises for the legs, you need to develop the muscles of the arms. To do this, they assemble and disassemble pyramids, children's construction sets, cubes, and mold them from plasticine. It is useful to shift objects with the affected hand, leaf through books, tighten nuts, fasten zippers, and tie ribbons.
To relax the muscles, it is useful to lie on your back and dangle your paralyzed arm and swing it.
Gymnastics after a stroke for the development of the shoulder joint:
1. lock your hands, raise them up, tilt them left and right
2. take the stick with both hands, lift it up, and lower it behind your head.
The sore hand is passive; it is pulled along by the healthy hand.

But the main thing in rehabilitation after a stroke is walking. Choose flat routes without climbs with benches to rest. Gradually increase the distance. The walking pace is slow - 40-50 steps per minute. Rest every 5-10 minutes.
Do not spare the paralyzed side, because non-working muscles cannot be restored, so they must actively work.
(Conversation with the chief physician of the Center for Recovery and Rehabilitation of the First Moscow State Medical University, Yu. K. Mokhrov from the newspaper “Bulletin of Healthy Lifestyle” 2011, No. 22, pp. 6-7)

Gymnastics after a stroke at home - Reviews about recovery.

Simple gymnastics for bedridden patients
A 58-year-old man suffered a stroke. He knew that the only way for a bedridden patient after a stroke to turn into a full-fledged person is through daily physical exercise. There is no time to waste, you need to start studying right away, while still lying in bed, in order to overcome the consequences of a brain stroke.
You can start with the simplest exercises (1) and move on to more complex ones (10):
1. Raise the paralyzed arm, first you can help with the healthy arm, and even earlier the sore arm should be raised by those who care for paralyzed patients after a stroke at home.
2. Squeezing a clothespin with the affected hand will not work the first time, but it will succeed on the tenth or hundredth try.
3. Lying down, squeeze the mattress with your sore hand and make circular movements on it.
4. After you get stronger and begin to sit down, learn to write with your left hand.
5. Soak the cloth in water and wring it out. Wipe down your kitchen and bathroom tiles over time.
6. Squeeze the rubber ball with your hand to make it more pleasant - pierce it. Perform 100 repetitions.
7. Make balls from plasticine.
8. To develop your legs, use a rubber ball, round sticks - you need to roll them with your foot on the floor, gradually increasing the pressure.
9. Press your hands against the wall (if your sore arm doesn’t rise, help it with your healthy one), shift from one leg to the other.
10. Lean forward, touching the floor with your toes.
The most important thing is to overcome apathy, laziness, the belief that you are no longer good for anything and will not be able to return to normal life.
The man has been doing these exercises for three years, and in the end, he learned to take care of himself, walks around the apartment freely, and on the street with a stick, and learned to write with his right hand, on which, after a stroke, he could not even move his fingers. (HLS 2003 No. 17, p. 10)

Exercise after a stroke
After a stroke, the woman was taken home by her son and started doing gymnastics while still in the hospital - the doctors showed her a set of exercises. Soon the exercises seemed too simple. She asked her son to find more large buttons, and 17 were found. They were dumped into a pile, and the woman transferred them, one paralyzed hand at a time, to another pile at a distance of 30-50 cm. Then she did the same exercise with matches, then learned to put the spilled matches into a box.
A table was placed near the patient’s bed so that she could learn to stand and walk by leaning on it. Over time, she was able to walk throughout the apartment, holding on to the wall.
After the stroke, the paralyzed arm swelled greatly, the woman bandaged aspen pegs to it, and the swelling went away. You can also tie a paralyzed arm to the neck so that it is smaller at the bottom, so it hardly swells.
The patient had a strict routine - exercises 3 times a day, exercises with buttons, exercises with matches, long walking around the apartment. She soon learned to peel potatoes and prepare soup for the children's arrival. To develop strength in her paralyzed arm, she carried first half a loaf of bread in a bag, then a whole loaf.
Now, 4 years after the stroke, her main exercise is “Kalmyk yoga”, doing 30 squats daily. Previously, they called an ambulance 2-3 times a month, but now the blood pressure has returned to normal and I managed to stop taking pills.
A message to stroke survivors: work slowly and hard, work and work within your capabilities. Movement is life, while we move, we live. The main thing is not to lose heart, always set a goal and achieve it. (HLS 2006, No. 23, p. 18,)

Walking and gymnastics helped to recover after a stroke
In 19955, a man was hospitalized with a diagnosis of stroke. The left side was paralyzed. Memory disappeared for 8 days. I spent 41 days in the hospital after the stroke. I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t hold a spoon, I couldn’t eat, because my mouth almost didn’t open, I just drank, my head hurt badly.
When his hands began to work a little, he began to rise on the bed with the help of a rope with knots tied to the headboard. I sat there for about two minutes. After a while, I began to lower my legs from the bed, and immediately felt relief, because blood began to flow into my legs. I did this exercise several times a day. I started rolling the roller with my feet, plus a foot massage. I felt a little better and had an appetite.
When he was discharged home, he began to learn to walk, first around the house, holding onto the wall and using a cane. A month later I asked to go outside. There he decided to walk alone to the next entrance, somehow he succeeded, sat there on a bench and headed back. After that, his legs hurt all day, but the next day he walked twice as far, and every day he increased the distance. A week later I was already walking around the three-entrance house.
Then the patient asked to be taken to the village where he had a house built. There he is every day 100 m to the farm and 100 m back. His legs became more obedient, but he still fell often. Soon he began to train his left paralyzed arm - he carried a bucket with 2 liters of water. First with rest, then I carried it to the end without letting go, it was very difficult - my fingers unbent and the bucket tried to slip out.
Gradually I increased the distance - I did 5 walks daily - 1 km, then 2 km. His arms and legs became stronger, he began to work in the garden and at home, 12 years have passed since the stroke, the patient is now 70 years old, he emerged victorious from the battle with the disease.
(HLS 2007, No. 8, p. 8,)

Gymnastics after a stroke is a set of exercises for the arms and legs.
A 65-year-old woman suffered a stroke and her right side was paralyzed. At first she became depressed and wanted to die so as not to be a burden to the family, but her daughters convinced her to fight for life. And she began to fight.
At the hospital, doctors taught the patient to walk by moving a chair in front of her; at home she continued these lessons, and eventually was able to move independently.
Every day he does exercises for paralyzed arms and legs: exercises for the hand and finger motor skills, moving abacus knuckles, rolling sticks (smooth and spiked), rolling a tennis ball and rubber balls. He also collects pyramids with his right hand, puts 100 pencils from the table into a box, collects dominoes, squeezes the wrist expander, moves the knuckles of the beads with his fingers, pumps the “frog” (foot pump for inflating the chambers) with his right foot 120 times, pulls the expander with his right hand - 200 times, sits and stands on a children's chair, holding the handrail - 50 times, reads aloud to restore speech.
There is a desire to reduce the number of exercises, but every time the woman pulls herself together and tries to increase them every month. Everyone is happy to celebrate small victories: now the hand has begun to clench into a fist, now it is possible to eat with a spoon in the right hand, etc... (HLS 2002, No. 10, p. 3)

Gymnastics after a stroke is a set of exercises for the hands and fingers.
1. Drum your fingers on the table.
2. Do a “split” with your fingers.
3. Spread your fingers wide and then close your fingers.
4. Place the brush on the table or bed. Lift each finger in turn, then raise the entire palm.
5. Holding the paralyzed one with your healthy hand, raise your sore hand.
6. Place your elbow on the table, hold your hand vertically, and reach your palm with your fingers.
7. Use your thumb to press on each other finger of the same hand.
8. Place your palms together and place each finger in turn on the opposite one.
9. Elbows on the table, palms together. Extend and close your elbows, sliding them across the table.
10. Roll the rolling pin on the table with your palm.
11. Roll the foam with your fingers.
12. Take a stick in both hands outstretched arms and twist it, intercepting it, clockwise and counterclockwise.
13. Throw a stick from one hand to another.
14. Roll the ball with your fingers away from you and towards you.
15. As if twisting a light bulb, spin the ball clockwise and back.
16. Squeeze the ball between your palms and press on it.
17. Throw the ball from hand to hand.

A set of exercises for the arms and development of the shoulder joint.
1. Stretch your arms forward and place your sore arm on your healthy arm, bending it at the elbows. A “frame” is formed. We make turns, moving the “frame” left and right.
2. Lower and raise your arms in a lock, helping the paralyzed one with your healthy hand.
3. Make circular movements with your hands clasped together.
4. Without releasing your arms, rotate your shoulders back and forth.
5. Raise your clasped hands up, spread them to the sides and lower them.

Stroke - exercises for legs.
1. Sit on the floor, straighten and bend your knees, sliding your feet along the floor.
2. Sitting on the floor, legs extended forward. Move your legs to the side one by one, sliding your feet along the floor.
3. Raise your straight leg and place it on the other.
4. Pull one knee to your chest, then the other.
5. Lying on your stomach, toes resting on the floor, lift your knees off the floor.
6. Crawl on your bellies.
7. Sitting on a chair, roll your feet from heel to toe and back.
8. Sitting on a chair, spread your heels and bring them together. Then lower your legs onto your heels and bring your toes together.
9. Place the sore leg on the healthy one and rotate the ankle joint.

Breathing exercises after a stroke at home.

This breathing exercise helps with a variety of diseases, in particular, cerebral vascular sclerosis and stroke. Just a month of practicing at home, and you will forget what sclerosis is, and stroke patients will gain hope for recovery. A 74-year-old woman, having read an article about this gymnastics, practiced for almost 2 years. As a result, high blood pressure, which was not lowered by any medications, returned to normal, and my health improved significantly.

First you need to choose a position: either reclining in a chair or lying on your back. Relax and let go of all thoughts. Close your left nostril with your left hand and calmly, very slowly inhale through your right nostril. Take a full breath to rise rib cage. Then close the right nostril, freeing the left. Don’t breathe as long as possible, endure with all your might. This is the essence of the exercise. Then begin to exhale through the left nostril. Repeat the exercise 5-7 times. Then we do the opposite: inhale through the left, exhale through the right nostril, also 5-7 times. This is 1 cycle. Such cycles must be done 3-5 times.
After about a week, you will feel a slight tingling and warmth in the solar plexus area while performing the exercise. After 2 months, your abdominals will become as firm as a drum. All this suggests that the exercises are going well and are beneficial (HLS 2011, No. 9, p. 19)

Exercise “Kalmyk yoga”.
Many diseases of old age are associated with impaired cerebral circulation. Patients fight these diseases with the help breathing exercises according to the methods of Strelnikova, Budeiko, Frolov. These systems have one thing in common: the carbon dioxide content in the blood increases, and this increases blood flow to the brain and heart and dilates blood vessels. The “Kalmyk yoga” exercise works on the same principle.
There are known cases when the “Kalmyk yoga” exercise completely removed the diagnosis of “diabetes mellitus”; many people significantly lower their blood pressure levels (from 190/100 to 140/90). But you need to practice every day for 2-3 years. This is a long time, but this exercise will not only protect you from a second stroke and heart attack, but will also completely rejuvenate and strengthen the body.
“Kalmyk yoga” is squats with holding the breath and the torso bent parallel to the floor. When doing the foundation exercise thumbs close the nostrils. You should do 10-15 sets of 20-60 squats.
A man suffered a heart attack, his wife showed him an article about Kalmyk yoga. He began doing exercises daily, gradually gave up all medications, his blood pressure returned to normal, and his health became ideal. (HLS 2003 No. 3, p. 23)

Massage after a stroke at home.

Acupressure after a stroke.
A man had a stroke at work. The right side of the body became paralyzed, and swallowing functions disappeared. Hospital, injections, tube feeding... 10 days passed, and there was no improvement. Then the wife got down to business and decided to use folk remedies. She gave 8 teaspoons of blue iodine in jelly every day during feeding. As a result, 4 days after this he began to swallow on his own. From Gavaa Luvsana’s book “Essays on Eastern Reflexology Methods,” she wrote down points on the meridians that should be massaged during a stroke. First, the right foot, which was icy, warmed up, then the right side began to function. As a result, the man went back to work (HLS 2000, No. 24, p. 7)

Massage after a stroke helped me recover.
A woman wrote to the newspaper who has been giving massages at people’s homes for 25 years. Her main patients are bedridden patients, paralyzed after a stroke. When she came to see another patient for the first time, she decided that no massage would help. The woman was very heavy - she did not speak, did not move, did not think, did not understand where she was and what had happened to her.
For the first six months after the stroke, the patient received massage daily. And then courses 2 times a year.
Three years have passed since the stroke, the patient’s speech and memory have returned, now she is learning poems and reciting them by heart, knitting socks, growing flowers, doing everything around the house herself, and doing gymnastics.
The masseuse had never seen such patients before; usually she encountered lazy patients who did little to heal themselves. In order to overcome the consequences of a stroke, you just need to not be lazy.
The editorial staff of the newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” called this patient to find out the secret of her cure. It turned out that there is no secret, but there is amazing fortitude and perseverance. “I don’t give myself a minute’s rest, I’m busy doing something all day. Sometimes I’m so tired that I have no strength, I want to lie down, but I can’t, I have to move, move and move. The only indulgence is to lie down after lunch for 15 minutes,” the patient said over the phone. (HLS 2009, No. 9, p. 9)

Massage and gymnastics for stroke prevention
In Russia, 400 thousand strokes occur annually. The reasons are stress, deterioration of blood circulation in the vessels of the brain.
To manage yourself and cope with stressful situations, it will help relaxation gymnastics. You need to sit comfortably, close your eyes and be alone with yourself for 10-15 minutes. Do this exercise 2-3 times a day.
To increase cerebral circulation and avoid stroke, it is useful to do head massage.
1. With your fingers clenched into a fist, you need to stroke your head from the forehead to the back of the head and neck, and then in the opposite direction (2-3 times)
2. Use your fingertips to pat your entire head for 1-2 minutes.
3. Use your fingertips to pat your temples and cheeks for 1-2 minutes.
4. Rub your ears with your palms.
5. Rub your left shoulder with your right hand
6. Rub your right shoulder with your left hand

To improve cerebral circulation at home, it is useful to do vibration gymnastics. Stand on tiptoes and lower yourself sharply, hitting the floor with your heels. 20 shaking-liftings with the head vertical, 20 with the head tilted to the right, 20 with the head tilted to the left, and 20 with the head tilted forward. (HLS 2002, No. 24, p. 12)

Healing rubs after a stroke.

Rubbing for those who have suffered a stroke.
This remedy helps restore body mobility to bedridden patients after a stroke. To prepare the rub, you need to take the following dry crushed ingredients: half a cup of black radish peel, 1/2 cup of horseradish leaves, 2-3 pods of hot pepper, 1/4 cup of walnut partitions, 1/4 cup of pine nut peel. Place all this in a jar and pour in 500 ml of alcohol or triple cologne. Infuse the mixture for 7-9 days. Rub the entire body of the paralyzed patient dry from head to toe. (HLS 2000, No. 14, p. 12)

You can limit the tincture to only black radish peel and hot capsicum (HLS 2010, No. 14, p. 19)

Therapeutic exercises after a stroke are the most important means recovery. Destroyed nerve cells cannot be restored, and their functions are assigned to other brain cells. Gymnastics helps with this, but it is important that it is performed in accordance with all rules and recommendations. Treatment involves several stages. After a stroke, a person ends up in intensive care, where doctors do everything to save his life. If the outcome is successful, the patient is sent to the neurology department, where he undergoes initial rehabilitation. The final recovery occurs at home, and the last stage is the longest, and it determines what kind of rehabilitation will be - complete or partial.

The set of exercises after a stroke may differ depending on the type of stroke, however, most exercises are recommended regardless of it. The main criterion that is taken into account is which part of the brain was damaged as a result.

Damage to the left hemisphere is fraught with the following consequences:

• Paralysis right side bodies.
• Disturbances in the perception of space.
• Problems with motor memory (the patient may not understand how to tie shoelaces).
• Eager, impulsive behavior.

Damage to the right hemisphere leads to the following:

• Paralysis of the left side of the body.
• Speech disorders.
• Problems with language memory (a person understands what he wants to say, but does not remember the word).
• Behavior becomes cautious and slow.

To eliminate each of the problems, along with basic exercises, gymnastics is done, aimed at training the impaired functions.

The main goal of therapeutic exercises after a stroke is complete restoration of function. In addition, there are a number of secondary tasks that are no less important:

• Relieving high muscle tone: with paralysis, they are very tense, and it is necessary to relieve excitability.
• Return of precise movements.
• Warm-up helps improve blood supply to tissues that are reduced due to innervation disorders.
• Prevention of bedsores, since when the body remains in one position for a long time, blood circulation in areas of high pressure is disrupted.

First of all, it is important that physical therapy after a stroke is approved by a doctor and developed individually for a specific patient. A specialist can explain all the intricacies of a particular exercise and select the most suitable ones depending on the type of stroke. You need to start doing gymnastics with the simplest exercises, gradually moving on to more complex ones.

In no case should a person be overloaded after a stroke, since excess load can be no less harmful than its complete absence. Before starting the exercises, it is recommended to warm up the part of the body through massage.

Support and help from loved ones and the positive attitude of the patient play an important role. Those close to him should help him maintain optimism and faith in a successful outcome. The patient needs to be praised and his success emphasized. To prevent another stroke, exercise will need to be done throughout your life.

Gymnastics after a stroke

In fact, health-improving gymnastics does not have any striking features. In many ways it resembles regular charging. But even the simplest exercises for recovery after a stroke will give excellent results.

The first complex is performed in a lying position. It is indicated in the acute period of the disease, when the patient’s muscles are fixed in a bent position and he cannot straighten them. The exercises are aimed at reducing tone and increasing the range of motion of the limbs affected by stroke.

• Exercises for the hand after a stroke. They represent a forced straightening of the limbs, thanks to which spasms can be reduced. It is necessary to straighten the bent limb, starting with the fingers and ending with the hand and forearms, and also wrap it with a bandage on the board, leaving the hand in this position for at least half an hour.
• Eyes. Move your eyes up and down, left and right. You need to close your eyes and make circular movements in both directions. Blink your eyes for 5-7 seconds, also make circular movements with with open eyes. Then the eye muscles can be relaxed and blinked.
• Neck muscles. Turn your head left and right, fixing your gaze in front of you.
• Fingers. They need to be bent and unbent ten times. You can do the exercise on both hands at once, or alternately. You can also hang a towel over the bed in a loop, and thread a stationary arm or leg through it and swing it freely. You can put a loop with a diameter of about 40 cm over the sore limb and stretch it.
• Elbow joints. The body should be elongated, arms located along the body. The right arm bends at the elbow, lowers onto the bed, the left arm bends. Do the exercise ten times with each hand. Suspend the immovable limb on a strong cloth and do various exercises: flexion, extension, abduction, rotation. Do this for 10-30 minutes. It is allowed to take up to three breaks lasting 2-4 minutes.
• Knee bend. While lying down, alternately bend your knees, as if sliding them without lifting them from the bed. Do ten of these movements with each leg.
• "Pull-ups." While lying on your back, grab the headboard of the bed with your hands. Perform pull-ups by straightening your shoulders and legs with your toes pointed. Do the exercise slowly, repeat six times.

If the patient is able to sit independently, he can perform a more complex complex. These are exercises after a stroke to restore walking, arms and legs, strengthen the back and prepare for normal movements in the future. All exercises are done in two or four counts.

• Starting position: sitting. Lie back on the pillow and place your hands comfortably on both sides of the bed. Stretch your legs forward. On the count of 1-2, bend smoothly, moving your head back, take a deep breath, and on the count of 3-4, smoothly return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise six times.
• Sit down, straighten your legs, lower your arms. Smoothly move your arms back, throw back your head and straighten your back, trying to bring your shoulder blades together. Hold the position for 1-2 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat four more times.
• Starting position - with legs extended. Grasp the edge of the bed with your hands. Do the exercise slowly. On the count of 1, slightly lift your right leg up, on the count of 2, lower it smoothly, on the count of 3, lift your left leg, and on the count of 4, return to the starting position. Repeat the swing for each leg four times without holding your breath.
• Starting position: leaning on a pillow. Raise your arms up, stretch your legs. On the count of 1-2, bend your leg at the knee and clasp it with your arms, trying to touch your knee to your chest. Fix in this position, tilt your head forward and exhale. On the count of 3-4, raise your head, remove your hands and slowly return to the starting position. Repeat the same for the second leg. For each, do four repetitions.
• Hand motor skills. You need to take a deep bowl and place objects in it various shapes, material and size. Using your sore hand, move items from one bowl to another, moving them one at a time.

The following exercises after a stroke at home are performed in a standing position and only when the patient feels confident and can easily perform the previous exercises. However, this gymnastics also has a number of limitations. It is divided into two complexes: light and with increased load. Simple exercises are used if a person has not yet fully recovered from a stroke. They will be as follows:

• Starting position: feet shoulder-width apart, arms pointing down. On the count of 1, raise your arms up, turning your palms outward. On the count of 2, stretch in this position and inhale. On the count of 3, lower your hands down, trying to describe a circle with them, exhale. On the count of 4, return to the starting position. Repeat six times at a smooth pace.
• Starting position - feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on your belt. On the count of 1, turn your body to the right, on the count of 1, spread your arms to the sides and inhale, on the count of 3-4, return to the starting position and exhale. Repeat the exercise in the same way left side. Do five times for each side.
• Starting position - legs apart, arms down. On a count of 1-2, perform squats without lifting your heels off the floor, slightly tilting your body forward and moving your arm back. Breathe in. At 3-4, smoothly return to the starting position, exhale. Repeat 6 times.
• Hands down, feet shoulder-width apart. Do squats for two counts. Inhale deeply, on a count of 1, squat down, place your hands on your hips, exhale, then return to the starting position. Repeat four times.
• Tilts. Place your feet apart, place your hands on your belt. Lean to the left, lifting up right hand, inhale, return to the starting position and exhale. Then do the same to the right. For each side, repeat the exercise four times.
• Leg swings Place your hands on your belt, stretch one arm forward. On the count of 2-7, swing your foot in a circular motion, then return to the starting position. Perform four swings for each leg.
• Lunges. Starting position - feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the belt. Extend your left arm forward, then step forward with your right foot. Make fists and place your hands at your shoulders. Return to the starting position and repeat the action, changing arms and legs. Repeat four times.
• You need to walk in place for 20 seconds, then do several exercises to help restore your breathing.

More complex physical training after a stroke at home in a standing position includes the following exercises:

• Place your feet at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other, lower your arms. Clasp your hands and raise them in front of you. Then raise your arms up and stretch them, return to the starting position and repeat the exercise five times.
• Grasp the chair with one hand and keep your back straight. The second hand is on the belt. Swing your leg forward and backward five times. Swap your hands and do the same for the other leg.
• Feet shoulder-width apart, place your hands on your belt. Make a shallow bend, exhale, return to the starting position. Repeat ten times.
• Place your feet together, bend your arms behind your head. Tilt to the right while lunging in the same direction right leg. Repeat the same for the other side.
• Jumping. Place your feet together, place your hands on your belt. Do random jumps: jump, keeping your legs together and apart, alternately putting your legs forward, and so on. It is recommended to jump for 40 seconds.

For patients who have suffered a stroke, a mandatory period of rehabilitation is indicated to restore lost skills - walking, speaking, self-care. For this purpose, physical therapy classes, speech and memory training are conducted. They are most effective when combined with dietary nutrition, drug treatment, supplemented with folk remedies.

Read in this article

Life after a stroke: periods of recovery

Rehabilitation of a patient after an acute cerebrovascular accident involves a gradual increase in loads. First, stabilization of the condition is required. As a rule, patients are discharged after 20–25 days of hospital treatment. At home, you can start exercising, provided that you have managed to normalize your symptoms and there is no severe weakness or depressive reactions.

Rehabilitation up to 3 months

The early period after a stroke is considered the most important, since at this time the maximum restoration of functions occurs. At this stage it is possible to achieve:

• sitting independently, standing near the bed, going to the toilet, dressing and eating;
• maintaining personal hygiene;
• control over work Bladder and intestines;
• improved vision and speech;
• the appearance of sensitivity.

With proper treatment, by the end of 2 months the patient can stand on his feet and maintain balance. When walking, support in the form of a walker or stick is required. It is important to organize physical therapy classes at least 2 - 3 times a day. The set of exercises consists of sequentially working out all muscle groups on both the healthy and the affected side; it is first necessary to warm up the muscle tissue and eliminate spasm.

Period up to six months

After self-care skills have been restored (in full or partial), more significant walking training begins. First, with the help of a relative or instructor, and then independently, the patient must confidently move around the apartment and go for a walk.

The first weeks require mandatory support, and in the future it is necessary to ensure the possibility of emergency communication with the patient. It must be remembered that there is no complete guarantee that there will be no relapse of the disease or a sudden fall even after a period of successful recovery.

At first, short walks and walking on stairs are necessary, and by the end of the 6th month it is recommended to abandon devices and outside assistance. The patient must have full command of cutlery, the ability to write, memorize and reproduce coherent texts. IN therapeutic exercises include weights (light dumbbells, plastic bottles with water, sandbags on the limbs).

Recovery after a stroke up to a year

Walks in the fresh air are becoming longer and longer - from 1.5 to 2 or more hours. They should alternate with rest; overwork should not be allowed. Speech in this period is usually restored or less confused. It is important to develop fine motor skills fingers. To do this, they use sewing, knitting, weaving, playing musical instruments, and putting together puzzles.

Up to 18 months, almost 90% of patients can do without assistance, provided they fully comply with medical recommendations:

• daily training;
• proper nutrition;
• taking prescribed medications;
• giving up bad habits;
• control blood pressure and blood sugar.

Exercises for rehabilitation after ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke

Physical activity is given the main place in the recovery of patients. It is important to ensure systematic training and the introduction of at least 2 workouts into the daily routine. Be sure to start the exercises on the healthy side and then alternate them with the affected limbs. When fatigue occurs, a pause is necessary, several breathing cycles with exhalation stretching, and then you can continue the exercises.

To reduce spasm

Muscle spasticity is reduced when performing a special complex using the Bobath method. All movements are smooth and slow, repeated first three and then five times:

• is given thumb arms to a right angle, you need to stay in this position for up to 3 minutes;
• stretching the remaining fingers of the hand;
• with the thumb extended and held, bend and straighten the hand, the whole arm at the shoulder;
• when fixing the thumb, the hand is abducted to the side and adducted (with the help of a therapeutic exercise instructor or a relative);
• stretch and pull your big toe towards you, fix the position for 2 minutes or longer until the muscles completely relax;
• Lie on your back, bend your knee. If this movement is difficult, then you should tap your hand under the knee. Pull the foot to the side and down by the big toe.

For upper limb

Movement in the arm is restored worse than in the affected leg. A feature of paralysis is the disruption of the deltoid muscle, which fixes the shoulder joint. When the patient begins to sit, stand or walk, the hanging arm can, under its own weight, cause stretching of the joint capsule and dislocation. To strengthen the shoulder use:

• moving the arm to the side;
• circular movements of the shoulders alternately and together;
• lifting the shoulders up and dropping down;
• abduction and dilation of the shoulder blades;
• sitting or standing with straight arms, show open palms and turn your hands back side(supination and pronation).

After the shoulder, they move on to the elbow joint (flexion, slow extension with fixation) and the wrist. You need to use your brush as often as possible, as it takes longer to recover. To do this, you can use any position - lying, sitting or standing; first you should help yourself with your healthy hand. Movements are carried out in all directions and planes - bending, turning to the side, circular rotations in both directions, imitation of screwing in a light bulb.

For developing legs

First you need to perform flexion and extension in the hip joint, knee and foot in a lying position. If the patient can stand, then add hip circles and knee rotations. The following complex is recommended in bed:

• bring your leg bent at the knee towards you and then straighten it completely;
• lying with straight legs, move the affected limb to the side and return to the starting position;
• sliding your heels on the bed;
• imitate riding a bicycle (on the weakened side, first with outside help);
• lift your legs one by one using a belt or rubber bandage.

Watch the video about exercises for developing legs:

Recovery Equipment

In the rehabilitation process, special devices provide significant assistance; they are purchased in specialized medical equipment stores. They are designed taking into account movement disorders on one side of the body; more advanced models have feedback functions that help set an individual tinting regime.

The most common varieties are:

• exercise bike for legs;
• treadmill with side rails;

Also, a variety of improvised means can be no less effective - an expander, a rubber bandage attached to a static object or closed in a ring, an ordinary mop stick, a ball, parallel bars, steps. Inflatable pillow used to train balance, first sitting and then standing. To develop a brush, plasticine and beans are useful, from which you need to lay out a figure.

Speech rehabilitation

The most intensive restoration of speech function is observed in the first six months from the beginning; it can last up to 2–3 years in case of extensive lesions or untimely treatment. Depending on which areas of the brain are affected, patients experience either a motor or sensory form of speech impairment (aphasia). In the first option, the patient:

• hears speech, perceives it by ear;
• understands words addressed to him;
• responds to requests;
• cannot pronounce a phrase or formulate a thought;
• Difficulties arise when reading and writing, so patients avoid them.

Watch the video about exercises to restore speech with motor aphasia:

With sensory aphasia, the patient does not pay attention to the speech of others, his own words are incoherent and are not controlled by him. Reading is possible, but the meaning of the continuations is unclear, the writing skill is completely lost. Human speech is characterized by insufficient meaningfulness and gesticulation. Since patients try to explain their thoughts to others, but they do not understand, this leads to irritability and resentment.

The following techniques are used for speech rehabilitation:

• cards with written letters, syllables and words from which you need to compose and read a sentence;
• encouragement to communicate - questions, requests, singing together, reciting poetry;
• listening to the patient’s favorite audio books with a retelling of their contents;
• viewing pictures and asking them to describe them.

If speech restoration is carried out at home, then it is important for relatives to maintain a friendly attitude towards even minor attempts to pronounce words, not to correct mistakes, but only to encourage patients. Overcoming a speech defect requires persistence and constant communication with the patient.

Watch the video about exercises to restore speech with sensory aphasia:

Nutrition after stroke

Since in the vast majority of cases patients with stroke have a tendency to atherosclerosis, then it is recommended to avoid the use of:

• fatty meat (pork, lamb);
• meat broths;
• any animal fat;
• offal;
• cream and sour cream, cottage cheese containing more than 10% fat, cheese with more than 40% fat content;
• sausages, sausages, sausages, semi-finished products.

With high blood pressure, minimize the amount of table salt to 3 - 4 g per day. It is recommended to sharply reduce the content of white flour and sugar, alcohol, and caffeine in the diet.

The basis of dietary nutrition is fresh or boiled vegetables, fruits, cereals, wholemeal bread with bran.

The source of protein should be:

• boiled fish;
• boiled, minced or baked chicken or turkey meat;
• fermented milk drinks;
• low-fat varieties of cottage cheese and cheese;
• seafood.

Vegetable oil should be added to salads; frying with it is not recommended. You can also put no more than a tablespoon of sour cream or cream, 5 g of butter per day into the finished dish.

Folk remedies

The role of herbal medicines in recovery after a stroke is associated with the presence of the following medicinal properties:

There is a recipe for collecting from plants, which has undergone clinical trials; patients were observed for 8 years after a stroke.

It was noted that in the group of patients who took medications (antiplatelet agents, nootropics) and additionally drank herbal decoction 2 times a day, the risk of repeated acute circulatory disorders significantly decreased; almost all patients noted an improvement in their well-being - disappeared or decreased headache, dizziness, increased physical and mental performance.

To prepare a decoction you need to take the following parts of plants (in tablespoons of crushed raw materials):

A tablespoon of the mixture is poured into a glass of boiling water and heated in a water bath for 15 minutes, then cooled to room temperature, and the broth is filtered. You need to drink it warmed up 30 minutes before meals. If medications are prescribed, then the break between them and herbs should be at least an hour. Reception lasts a month, then a 2-week break. This treatment takes a long time.

Recovery of patients after ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke takes from several months to several years. Therefore, it is important to know what techniques can be used at home.

To improve movements in the limbs, therapeutic gymnastics is used, which is supplemented with exercises on simulators. Speech rehabilitation includes training in auditory and visual perception of words, and encouragement to communicate. A necessary condition Successful treatment is a properly selected diet and a combination of drug therapy with herbal preparations.

Read also

You will have to do exercises after a stroke, otherwise you will not recover. physical activity. There is a special exercise therapy complex for arms and legs, gymnastics for fingers, exercises for working on walking. What can you do and how?

The consequences of an acute brain disorder can be complete or partial loss of the ability to move, impaired speech, hearing or vision. Along with drug therapy, a complex is recommended physical therapy and exercise after stroke. In a stationary state, a number of undesirable processes can begin in the patient’s body. With the help of a set of exercises after a stroke, you can prevent the formation of bedsores, atrophy of non-working muscles and their spasms, congestive pneumonia, and the formation of blood clots.

The doctor determines the level of complexity, nature and volume of the load within the framework of physical education after a stroke. The treatment regimen depends on the type of disorder, the size of the lesion and the body's ability to recover. The most important stage is considered the first six months after suffered a stroke. During this period, the death of affected, non-viable cells occurs, and living and “reserve” cells that need help are also activated.

Physical therapy after an ischemic stroke is most often prescribed already on the 5th day after the stroke. In case of hemorrhagic disorder, the beginning of the recovery period depends on the timing of the hematoma resorption, the operation and high degree risk of recurrent brain accident.

Breathing exercises after a stroke

In the absence of comments from the attending physician, rehabilitation exercises after a stroke can be started on the third day after an acute disturbance of blood flow. The exercises involve deep breaths, which must be done first while lying down and then while sitting, if your doctor allows it. Throughout the day, you need to periodically repeat your breaths, taking breaks, and make sure you don’t feel dizzy. During breathing exercises after a stroke, congestion in the lungs is prevented. The patient can inflate balloon to control the volume of air blown out.

Exercises while lying down

The simplest course, which is started as prescribed by a doctor. If the patient cannot perform exercises for a stroke on his own, a specialist or relative helps him. The purpose of such gymnastics is to reduce muscle tone and develop their mobility.

When performing gymnastics for the arms after a stroke, it is necessary to gradually bend and straighten the fingers, rotate the hands, bend and straighten the limb at the elbow joint. You also need to slowly lower and raise your arms along your body and swing to the sides.

When doing leg exercises after a stroke, you first need to move your toes, then pull your socks as far as possible toward you and away from you. Then perform flexion and extension of the lower limbs at the knee, sliding the foot along the surface of the bed.

Gymnastics after a stroke for the eye muscles involves performing rotational movements to the right and left, moving up and down, to the sides, without turning your head. With the help of such exercises during a stroke, you can prevent drooping of the eyelid, as well as normalize the work of facial muscles.

Therapeutic exercises for the neck after a stroke. The patient carefully turns his head to the right and left, trying to fix his gaze in front of him.

If the patient is completely paralyzed, he does gymnastics for a stroke with the help of relatives or specialists until he can do it on his own. When one side of the body is paralyzed, the patient can perform exercises, helping with his healthy hand and tightening the paralyzed limbs with an elastic bandage or a wide strip of dense fabric.

Exercises while sitting

At this stage of recovery the goal physical exercise for rehabilitation after a stroke - strengthening the back muscles and preparing for the first steps after suffering a brain stroke.

Deflections. You can lean on a pillow, moving your arms back and trying to squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Exercises for arms and legs after a stroke. Holding the edges of the bed with your hands, raise and lower your legs in turn. You can also bend your knees and pull them towards your chest, helping yourself with your hands. Such exercises after a stroke can be done at home. When performing exercises, you need to monitor your breathing to avoid shortness of breath and fatigue. It is recommended to start with four repetitions and gradually increase the number.

A set of exercise therapy exercises after a stroke for the hands (for the development of motor skills). It is necessary to put objects of various shapes, textures and sizes into a container and invite the patient to transfer them one at a time from one container to another. It is also useful to develop your arm muscles by squeezing and unclenching a small rubber ball.

Exercises while standing

You can proceed to such physical activity after a stroke if the patient does the exercises while sitting without difficulty.

1. Torso rotations. When performing the exercise, you can additionally spread your arms to the sides. Such therapeutic exercises after a stroke can be performed at home. Repeat 5-6 times.
2. Squats - perform slowly for 2 counts and make sure that the patient does not feel dizzy. Start with 4 times.
3. Tilt to the side 5 times to the left and right.
4. Lunges. Take a step forward with one foot, clench your hands into fists and pull them to your shoulders. Return to the starting position. Repeat 5 times with each leg.
5. Walk in place for 20 seconds.

A set of exercises of increased complexity within the framework of exercise therapy for cerebral circulation disorders includes swinging the legs forward and backward, which is performed while holding a chair with one hand. You can bend forward and backward, perform rotational movements of the pelvis clockwise and counterclockwise, and do squats at any pace that does not cause deterioration in well-being.

It is very important to know what exercises to do after a stroke at home. A stroke is a disorder of cerebral circulation. A stroke occurs when there is bleeding in the brain or when blood vessels in the brain become blocked.

Treating a stroke is a long and complex process. During a stroke, the patient experiences paralysis of the limbs, that is, the person simply cannot move. You can restore limb function with exercises after a stroke at home. Physical therapy should be prescribed by a doctor. The doctor is developing a whole system effective treatment. But the exercises can be done at home. If a person is completely immobile, then training should be carried out by other people. Complex for immobile people:

1. Bend the arm at the elbow.
2. Rotation of the brush.
3. Bend the leg at the knee.
4. Clenching a fist.
5. Work with the feet (rotation, straightening, stretching, massage).
6. Finger gymnastics. It stimulates further restoration of motor functions.

An important factor in recovery is regularity of exercise. Gymnastics must be done at least 3 times a day. The patient also needs Fresh air: the patient is recommended to organize walks every day, and the room should be regularly ventilated.

A seriously ill patient spends virtually all his time in bed. Make sure he is comfortable. The mattress should be hard and even. Make sure that bedsores do not form.

Preparing for physical education

Before starting classes, you need to warm up. Heat reduces muscle stiffness and lowers the pain threshold. You can take a bath or warm shower. Popular and effective way warming up is a heating pad.

Passive gymnastics

From the first weeks after a stroke, you can already start exercising. For the first 2 weeks, patients observe strict bed rest. Gymnastics starts with simple rehabilitation exercises passive type, gradually increasing the load. Relatives and doctors should help the patient carry out this complex. Passive exercises are performed while lying down. Here are some of them:

1. You need to hang a towel over the bed, then put your hand on it. Periodically, the arm needs to be bent and unbent. Also, the motionless arm should be moved to the side for 30 minutes with short breaks.
2. Alternate leg bending. This will help restore the functions of the lower extremities.
3. Exercise with a rubber ring (you can do it yourself). The ring is worn on both feet. Then move the elastic band. A useful activity There will be alternate lifting of the legs.
4. Unbend the bent upper limb from the fingers and attach it to a hard board. So the hand needs to be fixed for half an hour or even longer.
5. Exercise for the leg muscles. We place a cushion under the knees and increase the thickness of the cushion over time.
6. Eye gymnastics. Move your eyes around and to the sides. Repeat 10 times with closed and open eyelids.
7. Another eye workout: squeeze and unclench your eyelids tightly.

Active therapeutic exercises

When the patient feels better and has the first muscle reactions, then you can begin an active set of exercises. Physical therapy should be accompanied by special procedures and massage. The first active type exercises can also be done in a lying position. Over time, the patient moves into a sitting position.

Initial active physical therapy:

1. Rotation, head turns, gaze fixation.
2. Eye training: eye movements, squinting.
3. Grab the headboard of the bed with your hands and try to pull yourself up.
4. Turn the torso to the sides.
5. Raising the pelvis (heels rest on the bed)
6. Train your fingers: drum on the table, do the splits, open and clench your fists.

Seated exercises are carried out to restore arm movement, prepare the lower extremities for walking, and strengthen the back. Seated exercises:

1. Take a sitting position in bed, lean back on the pillow. Grab the edges of the bed with your hands and straighten your legs. Next, bend over a little, turn your head and inhale. Then lower your torso to the starting position and exhale. Do the exercise slowly. Repeat 5 - 7 times.
2. While in bed, slowly raise your legs one at a time (3 to 5 times each). Soon you can complicate the exercise: clap under your foot.
3. Place a pillow under your back. Bend your leg, pull it towards your chest and clasp your knee with your hands. In this position, hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale slowly.
4. Take your arms back. Try to bring your shoulder blades closer to each other. Tilt your head back. Accompany physical exercise with proper breathing.

After completing a set of exercises while lying down and sitting, you can begin active physical education while standing:

1. Place a small box on the table. Pick up the item and put it back. Then complicate the task and put the box on the floor. Repeat the steps.
2. Stand up straight and lower your arms along your body. Raise your arms up and try to pull yourself up.
3. Turn to the right and left, keeping your hands on your waist.
4. Tilt your body forward and backward.
5. Squat. First, a little at a time, gradually increasing the depth of the squat.
6. Fold your hands into a fist and move them away from your body.
7. Do the scissors exercise with your hands.
8. Swing your leg, you can supplement it with clapping under your thigh during the swing.
9. Walking in place.

Walking occupies a special place in the complex of physical therapy. First, you can try to lift yourself up using a rope tied to the bed. You can sit for 2 - 3 minutes. Next, try lowering your legs out of bed. Then roll the roller and massage your limbs regularly. Take your first steps around the apartment holding onto the wall, then walk with the help of a stick. After each such hike, your limbs will ache. But you need to overcome the pain in order to restore motor functions in the future.

Physical education should be done several times every day. Practice slowly and be sure to monitor your breathing. Training should become a habit and become an integral part of life.

Exercise breathing exercises. To do this, sit in a chair or lie on your back. Close your nostrils one at a time. Inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other. Breathe long while you have the strength. This is the essence of such physical education. Very soon you will feel warmth and a slight tingling sensation in your chest. This means that gymnastics works. In a month, the abs will become more elastic.

There is such a type of class as Kalmyk yoga. This complex is aimed at combating cerebral circulation disorders. It is carried out at home not only after a stroke, but also during diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure. You need to exercise every day.

Usually a yoga course lasts 2 - 3 years. The basics of Kalmyk yoga consist of squatting while holding your breath and bending your torso parallel to the floor. Do 30 - 50 squats several times a day.

"Mental" gymnastics

It is important to carry out not only physical activities, but also mental. “Mental” training helps restore central nervous regulation. Even completely bedridden patients can exercise in the first days after a stroke. Everything is very easy. You need to do physical exercises mentally. Thus, the nervous regulation that controls motor activity is influenced.