Focused Stroke Rehabilitation Programs Improve Outcome

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Abstract
R ehabilitation efforts following stroke are provided by a number of clinical specialists: rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists. speech therapists, social workers, and physicians. The concept of a stroke rehabilitation team has developed as a means of focusing these diverse backgrounds on the specific needs of individual patients. It is reasonable to expect some documentation of the benefit of such a therapistintensive rehabilitation program. The most easily validated rehabilitation techniques consist of bracing and use of ambulation assist devices. Fitting patients with an ankle brace and giving them a cane does not assure that they will walk or that if they do they will do so safely. Patients require instruction in proper sequencing of the cane and hemiplegic leg plus time and practice to incorporate these devices into automatic movements. Once the patient has learned to use these devices, their efficacy can be easily demonstrated by taking them away