Cerebellar Stroke (#1530)

Course overview

A stroke is a devastating injury to the brain that affects all facets of life and unfortunately, the long road to recovery is often in the hands of the patient themselves, or the caregiver. This course is written by a physical therapist who is a stroke survivor. The author goes into detail about the attribute of neuroplasticity of the brain and the role that the broken BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) plays in this function. Often a PT's and OT's main goal when treating a patient post stroke is safety. But this approach can be detrimental to recovery and the patient needs to be made aware that while being taught how to safely perform activities of daily living is vital, it is the opposite of most of these movements that leads to neuroplasticity and recovery of function. This course focuses on the disabilities that can occur when a stroke affects the cerebellum, which can be quite different from a stroke in the cerebrum. New evidence is frequently coming out about how to treat a patient who is post stroke both in the acute and chronic stages. This course discusses this evidence and gives examples of different symptom manifestation and ways to treat it from a functional perspective. Mirror therapy, wall climbing, action observation, virtual reality, music therapy, and meditation are infrequently used as interventions, but will be covered in this course. Different stages/phases of recovery after a stroke will be defined and discussed. The need for sleep and rest, as well as the emotional effects that a stroke may cause will be covered, and the need to treat the patient with more empathy. A full recovery is often not an option for a stroke survivor, so it is our job as therapists to get the patient to the maximum functional level possible. This is a must course for any therapist working in neuro rehab.