After a stroke, the muscles may become limp and feel heavy (flaccid or low tone). In the weeks or months after a stroke, the muscles may shorten and become very tight, making them more difficult to move. This is called spasticity (high-tone). These changes in muscle tone can affect joint stability and movement.
The muscle-relaxing effects usually last for about three months and you should not notice any changes in sensation in your muscles. You should have physiotherapy alongside treatment with botulinum toxin type A.
As with muscle weakness, changes in muscle tone happen when the area of your brain that controls your muscles is damaged. Spasticity affects up to a third of stroke survivors. It always occurs on the weaker side of your body and may make it difficult to move your limbs.
Acute Cerebral Infarction Presenting With Weakness in Both Legs and One Arm.
Some people regain full use of their arm in the weeks after a stroke. Many others still have some weakness, pain, or other problems with their arm. You may continue to benefit from arm therapy. Your medical team can tailor your treatment plan to your needs.
There may be help available with healthy eating, being more active and increasing your fitness and strength, such as physiotherapy or a cardiac rehabilitation programme. If you feel that emotional changes play a part in your fatigue, you can ask about treatment for depression, including medication and counselling.
Recovery time after a stroke is different for everyone—it can take weeks, months, or even years. Some people recover fully, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities. Learn more about stroke rehabilitation from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
Stroke can affect muscles in your arms, legs, hands and feet. After a stroke, the muscles may become limp and feel heavy (flaccid or low tone). In the weeks or months after a stroke, the muscles may shorten and become very tight, making them more difficult to move. This is called spasticity (high-tone).
Most patients regain the ability to walk within the first 6 months or, when mobility has been severely affected, within the first 2 years following their stroke. Experts can agree that the chances of recovering function after stroke increase with the intensity of rehabilitation.
Walking outside or on a treadmill, stationary cycling, recumbent cross training and many other forms of exercise that get your heart pumping are extremely beneficial for stroke recovery.
The rate of recovery is generally greatest in the weeks and months after a stroke. However, there is evidence that performance can improve even 12 to 18 months after a stroke.
You are still the same person, but a stroke may change the way you respond to things. It's not always possible to go back to the way you were before a stroke, but you can get help and support to make the best recovery possible for you. It can be hard for the people around you if they feel you've changed.
After six months, improvements are possible but will be much slower. Most stroke patients reach a relatively steady state at this point. For some, this means a full recovery. Others will have ongoing impairments, also called chronic stroke disease.
Because walking is such an important element of day-to-day functioning, recovering functionality in the leg is the central priority for recovering from a stroke. The arm, though, can be left to do little to nothing for the remainder of the survivor's life.
When a stroke damages the areas of the brain that control muscle movement, the signals between the brain and the muscles can become weakened or lost. As a result, the muscles are not able to respond as well to the brain's directions, and paralysis/weakness can set in.
Fatigue may improve with time but it can also be persistent and some patients may never be completely free of it. Tasks that may have come easily before the stroke may be harder and therefore require more energy then they previously would.
The initial recovery following stroke is most likely due to decreased swelling of brain tissue, removal of toxins from the brain, and improvement in the circulation of blood in the brain. Cells damaged, but not beyond repair, will begin to heal and function more normally.
If your symptoms have gotten slightly worse over the course of a few days, it could be a normal part of the recovery process. A stroke recovery journal can help during this time.
Brain Damage Occurs Within Minutes From The Onset Of A Stroke, Study Reveals. Summary: Harmful changes to the brain's synaptic connections occur within the first three minutes following a stroke. The finding, using mouse models, suggests cardiac arrest and stroke in humans would trigger a similar chain of events.
If brain cells die, they cannot communicate information to other parts of the brain or the body. Because of weakened connections between the brain and body after a stroke, people can have difficulty doing tasks that were easy before. For example, a person can have difficulties walking short distances or even standing.