How everyday life changes with post-stroke spasticity
With spasticity many aspects of everyday life can be difficult and arduous and sometimes even become extremely challenging. The following areas may be affected:
- Eating and cooking
- Dressing
- Housekeeping
- Mobility (walking to the supermarket or to work)
- Sleep quality
- Personal hygiene
- Posture
Depending on the location and extent of the spasticity these effects can range from mild impairment of activities of daily living to severe limitations in patients’ private and professional lives.
Patients may need help with activities that they could previously do naturally and completely independently. These might be very personal or intimate activities, such as daily hygiene, preparing a meal or getting dressed. Patients may also find it difficult to pursue their careers as usual or indeed at all.
Support is key: Post-stroke spasticity patients must not be left to cope alone.
Specialist doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists as well as self-help organizations are always on hand to give help and advice. Although not curable, with the research and development of modern treatment methods and their application spasticity is now easily treatable. Often treatment can ease patients’ symptoms to such an extent that they can resume their everyday activities and largely regain their quality of life.
The aim of this page is to help patients, family members, carers and interested parties to get in touch with specialists, other patients and helpers, who will encourage them and help them pick up their normal daily lives again.
Spasticity – who can help me?
Make an appointment with your GP. They can refer to you neurology specialists and physiotherapists.
Patient communities: Talk to other people who live with spasticity. You can share experiences and encourage each other.
Care Managers: Specialist carers are trained to help you get back to work and resume your everyday life.
March 20, 2018
Aids for daily activities – Part 1
Aids are available for many areas of daily living in order to make it easier for patients to cope with the challenges of everyday life.
April 10, 2018
Aids for daily activities – Part 2
Limited mobility in spasticity patients can make it hard to pick up objects from the floor or unlock doors.
April 30, 2018
Aids for daily activities – Part 3
There are many possibilities for spasticity-patients to recover her physical strength with some exercises at home
May 22, 2018
Back to work
There are many possibilities for spasticity-patients to recover her physical strength with some exercises at home
June 12, 2018
Health insurance companies and authorities
There are many possibilities for spasticity-patients to recover her physical strength with some exercises at home
June 5, 2019
Video campaign episode 62 – Which rehabilitation devices do you use? part 5
Today we show Part 5 of the video series: "devices I use". In the video Kasia presents her handmade "bean bags" and how she uses them.
