How Hydrotherapy Helps Stroke Recovery

In the United States, 800 thousand people experience new or recurrent strokes every year. Strokes are the fourth leading cause of death, and one stroke death occurs every 40 minutes. Strokes are the leading cause of disability, and 80 percent of strokes are preventable with the quick and proper precautions. After learning these numbers, let’s learn more about strokes, the signs of a stroke, and how hydrotherapy aides recovering stroke patients today.

What is a stroke?

Strokes, simply said, are brain attacks. Strokes occur when blood flow to an area of the brain is discontinued. Brain cells become oxygen deprived, and begin to die. When this occurs, abilities controlled by affected area of brain, like memory and muscle control, are lost.

There are two classes of strokes, hemorrhagic and ischemic. Hemorrhagic strokes, an aneurism or blood vessel leak, occur in 15 percent of stroke cases. The blood vessel burst or leak creates swelling or pressure in the brain, which damage cells and tissue in that area.

Hemorrhagic strokes are broken down into two types. Intracerebral strokes are most common, and occur when blood vessels in brain burst and leak blood into brain tissue. Common causes of intracerebral strokes are high blood pressure and aging blood vessels. The second type, subarachnoid strokes, are bleeding in the brain and surrounding tissue (subarachnoid space). This type is caused by an aneurism burst or arteriovenous malformation, or AVM.

The second class of stroke is known as ischemic stroke. This occurs when a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. This class accounts for 80 percent of all stroke cases. This class also has two types of stroke, embolic and thrombotic. Embolic strokes are clots or plaque fragments that form somewhere in the body (like the heart, for instance), and travel to the brain. Once in the brain, the clot travels to a vessel small enough to block passage. Medical term for this case is embolus.

Thrombotic strokes are caused by a clot that forms in one of the blood supplying arteries to the brain. People with high cholesterol or arthrosclerosis have a higher risk of obtaining this type of stroke. Medical term for this case is thrombus.

Signs of a Stroke

Now that we are aware of what a stroke is, we must also know the

signs of one. These symptoms occur suddenly, so quick, serious action must take place. The symptoms include:

*Sudden numbness and weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body

*Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding others.

*Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

*Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.

*Sudden sever headace with no known cause.

If any symptoms above persist, seek medical help immediately!

What is Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is an age old natural remedy used to cure or ease common health issues, simply by immersing one’s body in water. Hydrotherapy occurs in forms of both cold water and warm water, depending on the ailment. Warm water therapy is the most common form, due to use of these three common components: heat, buoyancy, and massage. Heat relaxes the muscles throughout the body. Buoyancy reduces the body’s weight in water by 90 percent, helping with exercise and movement. The massage component helps ease the troubled spots, allowing the body to release the body natural pain killing hormone, endorphins.

With water’s unique properties, it helps enable use for therapy and fitness, especially for those who are unable to do exercise and movement on land. For stroke patients, their equilibrium has been compromised, and water therapy eases their fear of falling. Water is also a key for stroke survivors to lead post stroke lives, to help them improve movement and mobility without pain.

With thanks from Stroke Network, here’s a story from a nurse of a stroke survivor, who uses hydrotherapy as a post-stroke remedy:

In September 2012, one of our stroke clients participated in the first Underwater Marathon in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This woman excitedly walked 20 minutes underwater on a treadmill. To give a little perspective, three years before, her family had been told she wouldn’t survive her stroke. But with a combination of land and water therapy (plus a generous amount of support from loving friends and family), she is enjoying her grandchildren, taking up adaptive yoga, and can say she participated in an underwater marathon.

For her, hydrotherapy has provided a renewed sense of strength and life. For our team, being able to give her and other stroke survivors aquatic exercise in a pool with underwater treadmill and resistance jets is truly exhilarating. There is no denying that stroke victims have uphill battles. Fortunately, they have advanced hydrotherapy as a weapon they can use to beat the odds and make incredible strides.

With all the benefits of hydrotherapy for stroke recovery patients, therapy can be done at home. At first thought, purchasing a hot tub could get pricey once you consider the cost, placement prep, installation, chemical purchases, and maintenance. There is one version of a hot tub that is portable, easy to install, eco-friendly, and even budget friendly. We like to call this tub the Softub. As mentioned above, Veterans can also write the tub off as a tax deduction! For more information, talk to a local dealer, or check out our website HERE.

Tyane Milem-Information Specialist

Softub Inc.

tyane.r.milem@gmail.com

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