Stroke Recovery Tips

Stroke recovery doesn’t have to be a daunting task.

May is National Stroke Awareness Month. A time to honor the strength shown by survivors and their support systems. It is also a time to share some tips to make recovery a bit easier. Recovery doesn’t look the same for everyone. Check out our guide below for a handful of tips that could help aid in your recovery.

Physical Element of Healing

• Good nutrition matters: Proper nutrition can help boost recovery. Focus on foods such as vegetables, nuts, and whole grains while limiting saturated fats and sugar.
• Keep using affected limbs: A common phrase you may hear during stroke recovery is “use it or lose it.” This is because if you stop using affected limbs, after a while, your brain will forget how to use them.
• Sleep when you’re tired: Sleep helps for a variety of reasons, but one of the most impactful is that it helps improve movement recovery.

Having a Habit-Forming Mindset

• Set appropriate goals: Goals can serve as a powerful form of motivation. Goals should be specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging enough to keep you going.
• Use 1% motivation method: Focus on improving 1% everyday, you don’t need to take a giant leap in recovery each day. If you got 1% better each day, then over a year, you would get 37x better than where you started.
• Believe in full recovery: Believing in a full recovery can be a helpful motivator. Motivation leads to action, which then leads to results.

Happiness is Key

• Reverse negativity: We are naturally more inclined to a negative mindset; reverse that by taking time each day to think positively and write down a few things you are grateful for.
• Improve posture: Practicing certain postures can help boost confidence and comfort for your body. It can also help boost testorone and reduce cortisol.
• Take care of your gut: Gut health is closely tied to brain health. Fueling your gut with probiotics and prebiotics can help boost your brain health.

Local Resources

Cone Health – after a stroke, partner with Cone Health rehabilitation professionals to gain skills that help you live well after a stroke. 

Novant Health – their therapists will address your physical, cognitive, and speech challenges to help you regain skills needed to reconnect with the people and activities you love and live more independently.

Alamance County Support Group – this free support group is hosted at the Kernodle Senior Center and provides support and education to stroke survivors and their families.

Griswold Can Help

Stroke recovery doesn’t end once you leave the hospital. Healing continues at home, and no one should have to go through it alone. At Griswold Home Care for Burlington, our non-medical caregivers can help make recovery at home safer, more comfortable, and less overwhelming by providing companionship, emotional support, help with daily routines, personal care, meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, and more.

Our Caregivers can provide respite care, if you need a short break, all the way up to 24-hour home care, for those who need support throughout the day and night. We provide home care services throughout Burlington, Alamance County, and the surrounding areas. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can best help you.