Physical and moral weakness after a stroke: how to help during the recovery period

The appearance of weakness in the post-stroke period is associated with residual manifestations of acute cerebrovascular accident. The development of asthenic syndrome slows down the recovery process, so patients require comprehensive care. It includes a special motor regimen, massage, taking medications to improve mood and activity, and improve sleep. For depressive reactions, consultation with a psychologist or treatment by a psychiatrist is needed.

How to restore a leg?

Legs for movement in post-stroke patients must be restored in stages:

1. First you need to strengthen the muscle base of the lower limbs and body;
2. Then balance ;
3. Coordination is restored ;
4. After that, important actions for movement .

Along with restoring the legs, other lost functions will have to be restored, for example, self-care skills.
There is not much difference between how to recover the left and right side of the body after a brain stroke.

The human body remembers all the walking skills, but the lost connection between the brain and muscles makes it impossible to carry them out in the present time.

The task of doctors is to rehabilitate this connection. Therefore, exercise therapy also plays an important role in the complex treatment of post-stroke conditions.

It is much easier to develop arms and legs if the patient was involved in sports or led an active lifestyle before the attack. In this case, sometimes you don’t even need outside help to do physical therapy.

The situation will be more difficult with such post-stroke patients:

1. Who is overweight;
2. Untrained patients;
3. In the presence of joint diseases.

It is difficult to lift such a patient and carry out any actions with him, which means the results will be poor.

Stroke

Neuropathologist, psychotherapist

information about the consultant

Hello dear Vova. Full recovery is problematic. Rehabilitation center at the address: 01032, Kiev, Tolstoy street 25. Another sanatorium in Koncha-Zaspa offers:

How “beauty injections” restore the ability to speak

Hello dear Marina. Your grandmother should be consulted by a neurosurgeon. If there is an official conclusion that surgical intervention is not indicated at the moment, she should undergo a course of drug therapy in the neurology department. The consequences can be both unfavorable (death) and relatively unfavorable (disability).

Good afternoon, Vladimir.

It is difficult to answer your question specifically. There are a number of restrictions for the sanatorium stage of rehabilitation after a stroke.

Pain in the leg and arm after a blow

Often, patients after a stroke complain that they feel a slight pain or burning sensation in a paralyzed arm or leg. The most common form of these pains is neuropathic .
In this case, the patient feels a slight burning or tingling sensation in the limb. Usually, such sensations do not cause him much discomfort.

Often such pain indicates the restoration of the supply of stimuli from the brain to the muscles . But sometimes these sensations indicate insufficient blood flow to the limbs.

If the patient begins to say that a paralyzed arm or leg hurts, then you should immediately consult a doctor.

What to do if your limbs hurt badly? Not all painkillers can help, so it is better to call an ambulance and not wait for the pain to go away on its own.

Microstroke of the brain

When people talk about a stroke that was not diagnosed in time and was suffered on the legs, they mean a microstroke. This term is not medical, but it reveals the essence of the problem well.

A microstroke is characterized by a disruption of the blood supply to brain tissue due to a violation of the integrity of a small vessel.

The condition is characterized by a rapid course, the symptoms disappear on their own within a day. A person can ignore the situation by drinking analgesics. If you see a doctor, there is a chance for complete rehabilitation. The result of inaction is sad consequences.

Read also: Care after a stroke

Classic symptoms of a microstroke

Pathology is the scourge of the working population of large cities. Chronic stress, poor nutrition, emotional and physical stress make the disease a common cause of weakening of the body, even in young people.

Violation of facial expressions

If these symptoms go away after using medications or on their own within 24 hours, this is a mini-stroke. If the severity of the condition increases and the symptoms are persistent, then this is a full-fledged stroke.

Consequences of a mini-stroke for health

The severity of the consequences for the body depends on a number of reasons:

• localization of the vessel in which the rupture occurred;
• its caliber;
• the measures that have been taken;
• much depends on the general health and age of the patient.

Blockage of a blood vessel in the brain

Rupture and blockage of even a small vessel in the head leads to disruption of the nutrition of nerve tissue cells. As a result, they die or are damaged, which leads to neurological problems. The severity of the subsequent condition depends on the location of the damage. If the blockage occurs in the department responsible for the movement of the leg, then the limb may become numb and paralyzed. If a rupture or blockage occurs in a vessel that is a continuation of the vessels of the spinal column, then double vision, general weakness and severe dizziness are observed.

Under favorable circumstances, a person may not feel the consequences of a mini-stroke. Sometimes changes take place. The person becomes whiny, irritable, aggressive, and may fall into hysterics or prolonged depression. Memory and control over emotions suffer. Such manifestations are not a consequence of a deteriorated character and capriciousness, but the result of the death of nervous tissue cells due to a lack of oxygen and nutritional components of the blood.

The danger of a stroke suffered on the legs lies in its complication - a major ischemic or hemorrhagic acute disorder of cerebral circulation.

Statistics say: in 60% of all cases, within 3 days after a pinpoint hemorrhage, a serious stroke develops, which causes a significant blow to health, including death. The consequences can be dire: the victim has to relearn how to speak and walk, and in some cases these functions are never restored. The sick person will not be able to care for himself and will be completely dependent on family and friends.

Principles of recovery

First you need to carry out passive gymnastics of all joint parts of the limbs. Later, it is necessary to consistently include active gymnastics. This largely depends on the patient's condition and his ability to understand the doctor.

It is imperative to combine passive gymnastics with massage. This improves the condition of the nervous system and activates neuromuscular impulses.

IMPORTANT! Do not forget about preventive measures for thromboembolism. During physical therapy, it is important to wear elastic stockings on the patient's legs or wrap elastic bandages around the lower limbs.

The tips of the toes are left uncovered. This is done in order to maintain control over blood circulation while performing therapeutic exercises. Normally, the fingers are warm and pink in color. Passive movements need to start from the area of ​​​​the feet - bending, straightening them, rotating them. After this, you can move on to the knees and hip joint. The knees can only be bent and unbent.

There will be more work on the hip joint:

1. The legs in this place can be bent and unbent;
2. The leg is abducted to the side;
3. Rotation.

As soon as passive gymnastics is mastered, you can gradually move on to active exercises .

How to learn to use a walker

As soon as the patient learns to stand confidently on his feet without support, he can begin to take his first steps. You can’t do this without an assistant, since he must belay from the paralyzed side to prevent a fall.

The patient should place the assistant's hand on the neck and rest his knee on the assistant's knee. Having fixed the joint, you can take the first step.

The assistant’s task is not only to support the patient, but also to control the correctness of his gait. When the patient moves with the help of a walker, it is necessary to ensure that the placement of the foot, rotation of the knee and hip joint are correct.

WE RECOMMEND SEEING: Ischemic cardioembolic stroke

The whole process has several features:

1. The patient cannot fully grasp the assistant's hand, since it is weakened.
2. To take a step, he needs to throw his leg forward, which leads to the helper's leg catching.
3. It is much more convenient to support the patient from a healthy part of the body, but the knee joint will not be fixed and the patient will not be able to hold on to the wall with his healthy hand.

The main purpose of using a walker is to gain the ability to bend the leg in all joints, otherwise the patient will constantly cling to the floor with his foot. The assistant should remind the person that the leg should be raised higher and bent at all joints.

High boots that fix the ankle joint will help facilitate movement. The affected arm should be secured with a scarf so that it does not sag during movement and the head of the humerus does not come out of the socket. During exercise, you should monitor the patient’s heart function and give him rest.

Once the patient can move with the help of a walker without assistance, he or she can begin to walk independently. This is done with the help of a cane, holding on to the walls, moving a chair in front of you. But it is important to ensure that the load is evenly distributed. You cannot spare the sore leg by relying more on the healthy one.

Is it possible to develop a leg at home?

All exercises with a post-stroke person can be done at home.
First, the doctor must tell and show the household how to care for the patient, after which you can begin caring for yourself. Classes should be carried out from the first days, when a person is in bed , at first these are simple exercises in the form of flexion and extension of the limbs.

After 1-2 weeks, after the general condition of the person improves, you can move on to massage and passive gymnastics. It is advisable to wear compression stockings on the patient.

From the second or third week you can move on to active gymnastics. Over time, the patient can be seated on the bed, gradually lowering his legs down. As soon as a person can stand on his own, learning to walk can begin.

Implications for motor function

A stroke occurs when there is an acute disruption of blood circulation in the brain. As a result, the organ suffers from a lack of oxygen and nutrients, which leads to cell death. After an attack, the following disorders occur:

1. The ability to walk is impaired. The patient cannot get out of bed on his own.
2. Sudden mood swings occur, positive emotions are replaced by negative ones.
3. Cognitive functions become unstable.
4. There is no coherent speech.
5. Swallowing reflexes are impaired.

If these disorders are present, treatment should begin as quickly as possible, otherwise complete paralysis will occur.

No specialist can say exactly when a person will fully recover from an attack. The rehabilitation program is selected separately for each case. This also applies to the development of exercises to restore the ability to move.

After an acute circulatory disorder in the brain, motor dysfunction can be detected by the following signs:

1. An unsteadiness of gait appears, which is not observed in healthy people.
2. It is not possible to bend and straighten the leg and arm or fully straighten it. The leg can remain in a straight position at all times.
3. The gait becomes uncertain and the steps are incorrect. Can't move quickly.
4. It is not possible to fully stand on the sole of the injured foot. Therefore, the patient begins to walk from the toe, and not from the heel, as ordinary people do.
5. Each next step can lead to an unexpected fall, as sensitivity decreases.
6. The movement of a sick person is similar to a compass.

Recovery Exercises

Recovery at home after a stroke should begin while still lying down, when the person practically does not get up. Exercises should cover all joint parts of a person, but in this case exercises specifically for the lower limbs will be described in more detail:

ATTENTION! Basic actions in a supine position are indicated for patients who have suffered a complex ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Under such circumstances, unilateral paralysis often occurs.

For bedridden patients:

1. Hands perform flexion, extension and rotation actions. Clenching your fingers into a fist. Similar movements are made with your feet; you should try to close and open your toes;
2. Carry out movements with toes and heels, flexion and extension movements, as well as bending the feet in and out;
3. While lying on your back, you need to bend your legs at the knees. Near the ankle joint, hands clasp the shins. Using your hands, you need to bend your legs in the area of ​​the shin, while the foot does not come off the bed, but only slides along the surface of the bed;
4. The legs perform a “bicycle” movement.

Exercises from a sitting position are aimed at strengthening the muscular base of the arms and back. They are necessary as preparatory measures before walking :

1. You need to sit on the bed with your legs down, your arms down and out, grasping the bed. The back arches, the body leans forward, hands hold on to the bed. You need to take a breath, relax and exhale. And so on up to 10 times;
2. When sitting on the bed, your legs are not lowered. You need to lift each leg in turn. Throw your arms behind your head and rest them on the bed. Try to lift both legs;
3. Sitting, feet on the bed, hands behind your back resting on the bed. The shoulder blades should be brought together and spread apart. The head tilts back and returns to its original position. It is worth breathing correctly at the same time; when moving the shoulder blades back, you inhale, spreading them apart, and exhale.

Exercise therapy from a standing position (legs still can’t walk well, so you need to do it with support on something):

1. Lifting small objects while standing, first from a low surface, then from the floor.
2. Taking small steps in place, holding onto a support. Then mastering walking skills.
3. Stepping your foot over the block, forward and backward.
4. Such exercises will restore balance to a person.

How to recover after a stroke? Stage two: exercises and recommendations

And now the unconsciousness, unbearable headache, heart weakness, gloomy thoughts about the future and complete dependence on others are behind us. A man finally got back on his feet after a stroke. All thoughts of him and his loved ones are aimed at how to speed up the return to usual activities and work. It must be said frankly that it is possible to regain the necessary motor skills, learn to serve oneself again, and return to one’s usual work only with the help of persistent daily exercises . It will not only increase strength and improve coordination of movements in the affected limbs, but will also help restore many skills: from the seemingly simplest ability to dress independently to the ability to use public transport.

But this will happen over time, but for now the main task is to learn how to control movements and, first of all, develop the ability to control muscle tension. How to do it?

We control the movements!

Take the sore hand with your healthy hand. Squeeze your fingers lightly. Let us designate this effort conventionally as step 1. Then squeeze your fingers a little harder - step 2, even harder - step 3. Do you still have some strength left? And this last effort is step 4. Now unclench your fingers, completely relax the muscles of your hand and try to perform the exercise even more fractionally - a fraction of the effort, as if by 10 steps. Having reached the last, 10th step, return to the 5th, then to the 3rd and finally to the 1st. For a healthy hand, such a fractional dosage of effort is not difficult.

Now try this exercise with your sore hand. Squeeze your fingers lightly at first, then harder, even harder. Does not work? Or is it difficult? At first, the sore hand can barely cope with three levels of tension; a subtle, fractional dosage of effort is inaccessible to it. To begin with, try to more accurately record the three levels of tension that you have already overcome, and then try to “rise” to the 4th. This can be achieved in the first lesson. The technique is simple: start with a weaker muscle tension than the previous time. Squeeze your fingers a little - 1st step. Happened? Try to squeeze them a little harder - this is the 2nd step. Even stronger is the 3rd step. The last tension remains - by no means the maximum - the 4th step. Now rest, relax your arm muscles for 30-60 seconds. Mentally repeat to yourself, “My hand is completely relaxed, there should be no tension in it.” Then you can stretch the muscles with slow, smooth movements of your healthy arm.

Repeat the exercise again; Having reached the last step, try to move to the 1st, gradually reducing the degree of muscle tension. So you have learned how to relax your muscles in doses. It is very important to train this skill. It will take two to three days to consolidate your newly acquired skills. After 5-6 days, your hand will become much more obedient, and you will also have the 5th level of tension.

Having learned to clench and unclench your fingers in measured doses, try also to bend and straighten your elbow, hand, and abduct your shoulder. Introduce each new movement into the set of exercises after 5-6 days.

Among these movements, the easiest is flexion of the elbow, the more difficult is extension of the hand , and the most intractable are rotation of the forearm along with the hand with the palm up - supination and the shoulder outward - rotation.

You can see how successful these movements are if you take an ordinary stick about a meter long in your hand, attaching it to your fingers at one end with bandages. The upper end of the stick, like the tip of a large arrow, will rotate outward if the forearm is successfully supinated and the shoulder is rotated.

Do not strive to perform movements with the greatest amplitude. Excessive tension can increase already high muscle tone, making movement impossible. Do more of the much-needed “jewelry” work - tensing your muscles incrementally with minimal force. It is best to do this after a night and day sleep.

Once you begin to achieve forearm supination and shoulder external rotation, you will be able to dress yourself. Take off your shirt, jacket

or a blouse and unbuttoning it is easier than getting dressed and fastening the buttons. Then in a day or two you will cope with this task.

After another week, you can try to put clothes on over your head (shirt, dress), and then take off the clothes over your head. The hardest part is learning how to put on and take off pants. By systematically and persistently training, over time you will be able to use first a fork, and then a tablespoon and a teaspoon, cut bread, meat, and drink from a glass and cup.

Once you have mastered all this, it is time to restore the following skills: the ability to write, put a letter in an envelope and seal it, dial a telephone number and close the door with a key, use a plug, push-button switch, water tap, light matches.

Leg and walking training

At the same time, start training your legs: the movements are carried out in the following sequence: flexion and extension of the knee and foot. It is especially important to restore the volume of movement in the ankle joint, such as pronation of the foot, that is, abduction upward - outward and rotation in the hip joint. Start doing exercises with minimal effort, with a small range of motion. Consolidate your exercise results while walking. This is a very difficult task, because the vertical position and walking load cause a number of muscle tone disorders - the foot bends, the center of gravity is transferred to its outer edge: the entire leg is most often turned outward. To avoid this, try walking with an anti-rotation plate (a 15-centimeter metal ruler will replace it). which is attached to the foot.

From the very beginning, try to develop the correct step pattern: start walking with your healthy leg, then, achieving a slight bend in the knee joint of the affected leg at a time when it is still behind, carry it a little forward, still avoiding excessive bending in the knee. And then, relaxing your thigh, as if whip your shin forward precisely due to this relaxation and, finally, place your foot on the floor and transfer your body weight to it. You only need to walk this way, otherwise your legs will swing to the side like a scythe (“mower walking”).

Having learned to walk correctly in 5-6 days, try to implement your achievements in applied exercises: turning in place right and left, walking up 5-6 steps of stairs, holding the railing with one hand, going up and down 5 steps without holding the railing, going up and down a flight of stairs using a cane and finally going up and down a bus step.

Of course, this is only an approximate range of life skills and actions that need to be mastered first. It can be changed and expanded on the recommendation of a doctor, depending on the patient’s living conditions, the degree of movement disorder, and the state of his cardiovascular system.

At first, all exercises should be done with minimal effort, so as not to cause an increase in muscle tone and consolidation of the so-called vicious friendly movements: when training, for example, an arm, leg movements.

How to combine gymnastics (dosed muscle tension) and work aimed at restoring everyday skills during the day?

In the morning, while still in bed, when the muscles are relaxed, you can do exercises mainly for the arm for measured tension and relaxation for 10-15 minutes.

After breakfast, after resting for 35-40 minutes, repeat these exercises, add an exercise to tense and relax your legs and immediately begin mastering the household skills we talked about. Lesson duration is 45-60 minutes.

The third lesson is best started after lunch. It should also be combined: special gymnastics followed by mastering everyday skills: duration 45-60 minutes.

The last, fourth lesson is carried out in the evening before bed in the following sequence: first, mastering everyday skills, and then, while lying in bed, exercises for dosed relaxation and muscle tension. In addition, you can perform some easy exercises throughout the day. The main thing is that they are not done mechanically, but meaningfully, in accordance with the recommendations given by the attending physician.

When the patient no longer needs outside help, he is given a three-legged crutch and he begins to walk with its help. Naturally, it is necessary to continue the participation and supervision of a rehabilitation specialist. To position your feet correctly during the period of learning to walk, you need a path with “footprints” that can be cut out of any thick paper (for example, wallpaper) and pasted onto one or another base. Or you can roll out a piece of such paper on the floor, secure it, and then ask a healthy person to walk along it, wetting his feet with an easily washable layer of paint. The patient must then. When practicing walking, try to follow the tracks of a healthy person. In this case, it is necessary to constantly monitor the patient’s posture and the uniform distribution of body weight on the sick and healthy sides. It is necessary to teach the patient to raise the paralyzed leg a little higher than usual so that it does not cling to the floor. To teach this, you can place a rounded obstacle about 5 cm high on the floor next to the footprints on the side of the sore leg. Gradually, the three-legged crutch is replaced by a stick - a cane. When selecting a crutch and cane, you should focus on the patient’s height so that when walking, the sore shoulder does not rise higher than the healthy one. As soon as the patient begins to move independently, it is necessary to prevent the foot from drooping and wear shoes with high lacing and inserts that fix the ankle joint.

Do not forget to teach the patient self-care. First, with your help, and then, if possible, he should dress, wash, dry his hands, use a spoon and fork on his own.

Exercises to develop sensorimotor coordination

1. I.p. – standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms lowered, muscles of the shoulders, forearms, and hands relaxed. For 1 minute, clench and unclench your fingers, gradually speeding up the pace to the maximum, then gradually slow it down until it stops completely.

2. I.p. - Same. For 1 minute, squeezing and unclenching your fingers, raise your arms (forward or to the sides) to chest level, then lower them into an i.p. While performing the exercise, you can also make circular movements with your hands.

3. I.p. – standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended forward at chest level, palms up. For 1 minute, consistently bend and straighten your fingers, starting with the thumb.

I.p. – standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended forward at chest level, palms down, fingers slightly clenched into a fist. For 1 minute, increasing the pace, rotate your hands towards each other, then in the opposite direction. Rotational movements of the hands can be combined with raising the arms up or abducting them to the sides. If general

All these exercises can be performed while sitting. Breathing is voluntary.

We did not accompany this text with detailed illustrations intentionally, since we believe that it is wiser for relatives to master all rehabilitation skills under the guidance and supervision of specialists in the rehabilitation of such patients who have experience and mastery of massage techniques, physical therapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture.

It will take a lot of time and effort to restore sensorimotor coordination - the ability to make small, coordinated movements. Watch yourself when you thread the needle. First, you take a preparatory pose, then concentrate your gaze on the eye of the needle, and only then begin to bring the end of the thread to its hole. If the hand moves slightly to the side, the brain, having received the signal from the organ of vision, immediately corrects the movement of the hand. And so on until the thread is threaded.

Restoring such an action from the patient, even if he previously coped with it in a matter of seconds, will require long-term efforts. Should

remember the important role sensorimotor coordination plays in our lives. Thanks to it, a person can weave the finest lace, transform rough metal into a light ligature of a jewelry pattern, and make a thing so miniature that it can be seen, like a fabulous savvy flea, only with the help of appropriate optical equipment.

No one sets himself, at least immediately, the task of restoring the motor dexterity of the patient’s hands to the level of the work of a watchmaker, jeweler, surgeon or dexterous prestidigitator.

But those small precise movements that are required in everyday life can only be restored as a result of long-term special training and the development of sufficient mobility of the hands. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the rationality of the working posture, which is an important condition for performing any type of movements based on sensorimotor coordination. The patient should be taught to relax. He must master and remember the feeling of peace and this will help him gradually adapt to maintaining a posture that maximally eliminates muscle tension in the muscles of the shoulder girdle, the entire arm and, especially, the hand. It is also important to monitor your breathing. If the patient breathes irregularly, some inconsistency appears in the coordination of small movements. Inhalation, in this case, should be twice as long as exhalation. Here are some exercises to develop the muscles of your hands and arms. They do not require much time, but they should be repeated many times a day.

Everything described here can only be done with the permission of the attending physician and under his regular supervision.

Massage

It is worth considering the use of massage on the lower limbs:

• To massage the outer side of the lower leg and thigh, the person is placed on the healthy side. The neck and legs are on a bolster, the head is placed on a pillow.
• When massaging the back surface, the patient's legs are placed on the stomach, under which a soft base, such as a pillow, is placed. This will prevent spasm in the lumbar region. A cushion is placed under the foot.

ATTENTION! The massage should be done by a specialist. After several such sessions, it can be performed on the patient’s relatives. The entire procedure is performed in a supine position.

The massage begins with large muscles, gradually moving to small ones. Finally, the fingers are massaged.

Thigh massage:

1. Relaxing actions from the knee area to the groin area;
2. Spiral stroking movements from top to bottom;
3. After the muscles have relaxed, a gentle massage is performed using the palm of your hand.

Massage of the buttock area begins from the sacrum and up to the outer area of ​​the hip joint.

Shin:

1. Here it is permissible to use rougher movements, but provided there is no muscle spasm;
2. Longitudinal stroking is combined with more intense transverse stroking. The palm and all fingers are used for work;
3. The calf area is simply stroked, this is done from the heel to the knee joint.

Foot:

1. The foot is fixed in the hands of the massage therapist, the toes look up;
2. All the hills and depressions of the back of the foot are warmed up;
3. The hollows between the fingers are especially carefully massaged;
4. All movements are carried out 3-4 times.

We invite you to watch a useful video on the topic:

Basic rehabilitation methods

The first stage of rehabilitation is associated with bed rest. During this period, it is necessary to perform passive and active movements of the limbs in order to normalize muscle tone. Breathing practices prevent the appearance of congestion in the lungs, leading to the development of pneumonia.

A person who gets out of bed can begin training and activities aimed at restoring motor functions. Restoring leg mobility after a stroke is performed using different methods. Doctors recommend approaching the problem in a comprehensive manner, combining several techniques:

1. Physiotherapy. Any exercise (flexion, extension, rotation) involves the nervous system in the formation of a response, which stimulates the transmission of impulses and the work of the motor areas of the brain.
2. Nordic walking. High results in normalizing motor functions after a stroke are achieved with the help of Nordic walking. During the exercises, the muscles of the legs, arms and back are used. Supporting yourself with sticks helps you maintain your balance.
3. Training in the format of oriental practices (yoga). Yoga combines meditation, breathing techniques and physical exercise, which has a beneficial effect on overall health and well-being. Classes develop endurance, flexibility, plasticity of all parts of the body, which contributes to the normalization of motor function.
4. Water procedures. A procedure such as hydromassage (whirlpool baths) will help you get back on your feet after a stroke. Modern spa pools, Jacuzzis, and hydromassage baths have many functions - massage modes, water temperature and other parameters are regulated.

How long will development take?

Recovery of the entire body, including the legs, after an attack will depend on several factors. First of all, it depends on the type of stroke you suffered.

Thus, the recovery time, based on the type of stroke, will be as follows:

1. For ischemic stroke with mild dysfunction, partial recovery is possible after 1-2 months, complete recovery after 2-3 months;
2. If a stroke of any type proceeded with severe impairments, then the functions of the leg and other systems will be partially restored in six months, full recovery will take several years, and sometimes it never occurs;
3. In case of an extensive stroke with a severe persistent deficit, partial improvement occurs after 1-2 years, but it will not be possible to fully recover.

Physical exercise in combination with massage plays a huge role in restoring legs after a stroke. They need to be performed regularly and consistently, gradually moving from simple to complex. All exercises are performed under the supervision of the attending physician and according to his recommendations.

Old people about themselves and about life: “Put a photo of the dog with me in the coffin”

Valentina Nikolaevna Gracheva is 88. After a stroke, her legs gave out, and since then she has been using a wheelchair. She remembers her shepherd dog, from whom she was separated, and the volunteers who carried her in their arms for a walk.

On the windowsill, behind the tulle curtain, is a portrait. A strict woman with curled hair and clear striped eyebrows.

“I was 75 years old then, that’s what I was, thirteen years have passed, and you see what kind of Baba Yaga I have become.” There is not a single tooth, I had two strokes, my arm is broken, I fell twice, look how it dangles. It is held together by some veins. The bone sticks out. I can hardly feel my hand. Sometimes I lie and look for her - where is my hand.

Colorful scarf. The eyes are slits, there is swelling under the eyes. Between the neck and chin there is a soft pouch. He sits me down on the bed.

“I used to be so fashionable, I wore everything new and modern.” I lived in the village of Fedino, near Voskresensk. I worked as a salesman all my life. She sold products. My children are all good. Two sons and four grandchildren. One grandson was hit by a car; he was three years old. I buried my husband a long time ago. He was a war invalid.

Nobody sent me here. I had severe pain, my liver hurt, my pancreas hurt, my heart hurt—I can’t boast of a single organ. I asked: “Send me to a madhouse.” This is what the common people call the hospital. They told me: “You won’t live there even for three days.” I insisted. As a result, I’ve been living here for eight months now. Here they give me painkillers.

I always fall asleep with one goal - so as not to wake up. But I still wake up. I believe in God, but I rarely went to church, I wasn’t instilled in it since childhood. I don’t even know a single prayer. It’s wrong that you couldn’t go to Church before.

Volunteers came to us in August. Six people. Three guys and three girls. It was such a sunny day. The guy asked me: “Grandma, do you want to go for a walk?” I say, “I won’t get through in a wheelchair.” So this young man carried me up the steps in his arms. Then they put me in a wheelchair and drove me around the hospital grounds. I know absolutely nothing here. They drove along the paths and took photographs.

The staff here is kind. They will never refuse anything. If you need to buy something, they will find the time, go and bring it. Haircuts are done once a month. And they feed well.

I had a dog. English Sheepdog. Shaggy. Her name was Dolly. For 13 years she was with me day by day, minute by minute. I understood everything like a person. I have never seen such dogs again.

Here we are sitting with her in the hall. I’ll say, “Dolly, go to the balcony, just through grandpa’s room.” And she goes, as I said. When we return home from a walk, I’ll say, “Dolly, sit by the door, we’ll wash your paws.” I go for a bath, pour water, she sits. She sits by the basin, I wash her one paw at a time, I wash each nail. Without straightening up, I’ll say, “Turn the other way,” and she’ll turn around. Her eyes are large and black.

She had a lot of wool, I collected it in bags. I had two packages. I will put it in gauze, tie it to my legs, and my legs will calm down.

When I had a stroke, my grandson took the dog to his wife’s father, I said, “For God’s sake, save my Dolyushka.” And they apparently shot her. I still cry all the time. I ask my people - “Bring me at least her card. I have one last request - when I die, put these cards with me in the coffin.”

Everything good is not forgotten. It grows and grows every year.

If you want to help lonely old people like Valentina Nikolaevna, join the volunteer movement “Old Age in Joy”! You can join the “Old Age in Joy” volunteers on the website of this foundation or on its Facebook page.

Valeria GRECHINA

Publication date: 12/27/2013

How to choose shoes and clothes for classes

After a stroke, doctors recommend wearing orthopedic shoes that protect the foot from twisting. It is better to choose high shoes that reliably support, fix and protect the ankle joint. Clothing for classes should be spacious and comfortable, not restrict movement, and absorb moisture well.

Restoring motor functions after a stroke is performed in different ways. The use of several techniques together will improve the results of rehabilitation treatment. Your doctor will help you choose the right classes and workouts.

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