An Abuja based physiotherapist, Mrs Lola Jude, has revealed how to prevent further deformities for stroke patients.
According to her, patients need regular rehabilitation therapy and constant attention to prevent their bodies from becoming stiff.
She gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
She said, rehabilitation should start immediately a person had suffered a stroke, depending on the blood pressure of the patient in order to get the patient back to normal life after the stroke incident.
She also advised that passive exercise should be done continually to remind the brain to send signals to the paralysed parts of the body.
“The body works on a principle of use it or lose it and muscle atrophy is the wasting away of muscle due to misuse. “The person should be positioned properly on the bed to avoid deformities, depending on how bad the stroke is, the blood pressure should be stabilised to avoid an immediate re-occurrence,” she said.
Jude said, although recovery normally comes but the physiotherapist was needed to preserve the muscles for best recovery and by teaching the patient proper breathing patterns.
“The limbs, ribs, shoulders and fingers are massaged and exercised using passive movements on both the affected and unaffected sides,” she said.
She further stated that, while certain positions were encouraged for stroke patients, others were not discouraged and recommended that the patients’ hands should be placed behind their heads and a lot of pillows should be used to rightly position them, especially their shoulders.
She advised on the need for patients’ caretakers and family members to be taught some level of physiotherapy and stroke management techniques to complement expert efforts.
She called on patients to join group treatments and see psychologists to handle their emotional setbacks.
Comments