A website providing information and support to stroke survivors and their families, including the Stroke Caregivers Handbook.
Stroke Awareness for Everyone (SAFE)
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- November 24, 2015
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Try performing a serious task-related exercise series; challenge yourself to touch places on your own body that may extend your current capability. All extensions of current range of motion are great. You can try to work your affected hand in functional movements: you can literally do anything. Go freestyle. This is where training is fun!
An example of such training would be to scratch your tummy, then pull the top of your t-shirt or sweatshirt out to the front, pull the good side sleeve down, pull it up, scratch the ear on your good side ear. You can go quickly, go slowly; touch body-parts only with the palm of your hand, touch only with the side (usually the side of your little finger); lift your affected-side knee up quickly and try and touch the outside thigh; try and touch the top of your head, comb your hair with your fingers; reach round the back of your neck; clean out your ears with your finger, wipe your finger on your trousers (only kidding). You can see that the permutations are endless.
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If you like this post then please share it with others. Each time that you share a post, you can directly help other people – as who knows which people in the world might find us and gain, either directly from the charity or simply by being able to copy an ‘innovative and useful’ move/trick of the trade that might help them manage after stroke.
Every time you share, you could directly help someone – as knowledge is power ;)
#neurorehab #strokerehabilitation #strokerehab #ARNIstrokerehab #neuroplasticity #strokerecovery #strokesurvivors #strokeexercise #strokearmrehab
Free weights not only allow you to do the movement in a way that is more natural to you, they also allow for slight variations in the exercise, which many machines (found in gyms) do not. Do you use free weights??
If you want some help so you know what to do that's best for you then give us a call on 0203 053 0111 or email support@arni.uk.com and we'll let you know if there's a trainer near you who#strokel#StrokeSurvivorss#strokerecovery##strokerehabilitationerehabilitation
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I use kettlebells, dumbbells, weighted stick and cardio alternating on walking pad, elliptical and rowerat home, as well as weight training in gym once a week with PT (can only get there once a week at moment)
Remember, every time you walk around, you need to be extremely aware of your environment. Awareness is everything, and it allows you to avoid trouble of all sorts. As far as dealing with obstacles and rough, broken surfaces are concerned, keep your head up as much as possible.
It's so natural to look down and try to avoid obstacles by lengthening or shortening your stride. This is the quickest way to stumble and lose balance. In an effort to supplement the knowledge about the ground, you are sending urgent signals to your foot, which seems to be slowed, so that you can end up confusing yourself!
Unbelievably, your brain seems to be able to cope with uneven surfaces better by using instinctive adjustments. If you are an intermediate stroke survivor (i.e. you’ve been retraining for at least a year, even two years), try walking over uneven terrain with your eyes fixed on the ground and note the problems you encounter. Then walk over the same kind of surface with your gaze fixed the horizon, using the very periphery of your vision to check you are walking in the right way.
From The Successful Stroke Survivor by Tom Balchin
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#strokerecovery #strokerehab #neurorehab #ARNIstrokerehab #strokerehabilitation #strokeexercise #neuroplasticity #walkingafterstroke
Here’s why engaging an ARNI instructor is a vital step in the stroke recovery journey:
🧠 Leveraging Neuroplasticity: ARNI focuses on functional, task-related practice to retrain the brain and body. By engaging survivors in repetitive, meaningful activities, instructors help tap into the brain's neuroplasticity—its ability to reorganise itself to recover lost skills.
💪 Building Functional Independence: ARNI goes beyond passive treatment by teaching practical coping strategies for managing daily life. This includes crucial, real-world tasks like safely getting up from the floor, which builds confidence and functional independence.
🚀 Providing Continued, Personalised Support: Unlike standard rehabilitation which can cease once a patient can mobilise, ARNI trainers provide personalised, one-on-one sessions that are constantly adapted and intensified based on the survivor's progress. This bridges the gap in care and combats the risk of a plateau or regression in recovery.
📈 Evidence-Based and Innovative: The ARNI approach incorporates stroke-specific strength and resistance training, which recent research has confirmed improves recovery outcomes. The model challenges the traditional paradigm that recovery plateaus shortly after hospital discharge, offering a framework for enhancing patient outcomes and promoting self-reliance.
✨ Holistic Empowerment: By continuing recovery in a familiar home environment, ARNI also helps reduce stress and anxiety. This empowers survivors to take an active and confident role in their own long-term journey toward regaining strength, balance, and independence.
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Call 0203 053 0111 or email support@arni.uk.com
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This is such a powerful reminder that stroke recovery doesn’t have to stop when formal therapy ends. ❤️ Task-specific practice, personalized goals, and continued rehabilitation can all support independence, and recovery can continue for months or even years. I especially love the focus on meaningful everyday goals—those are the victories that really matter. Keep working safely with qualified professionals and celebrating every bit of progress. 💪💚 My specialist also recommended THE STROKE RECOVERY ROADMAP by LYDIA T. SAWYER (You can grab it on Am@zøn.). It has helpful ideas for recovery support, healthier meals, wellness habits, simple exercises, better daily balance, and symptom-management strategies. Every step forward counts. Keep believing in the journey and celebrating those wins! 🙏✨
ARNI....would NHS ever partner with you? My suggestion to them previously was subsidising physio - outsourcing it and paying graduated percentages towards it - allowing stroke survivors to access proper physio sooner and for longer?
You are the single most important person in your recovery process. It does not matter if you have a supportive partner, great family members, incredibly supportive friends or the best rehab team in the world. If you are not motivated, then none of it matters.
So never give up. Stroke recovery may last years and every day is a chance to get better. Even if you feel that you have plateaued, most likely are wrong, push through and tell yourself tomorrow is another chance to recover some more.
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#neurorehab #strokerehab #strokerehabilitation #arnistroke #strokeexercise #neuroplasticity #ARNIstrokerehab #strokerecovery #ARNIstrokerehab
Keep believing in yourself - even if it feels like 💩 that day
Stroke warrior @Richard Hargreaves, pictured said to me once that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint 🏃♀️. Sometimes, the journey can feel long and overwhelming, but it's the small, incremental successes that pave the way for bigger achievements. Each tiny victory is a step forward, a testament to your brain's incredible neuroplasticity and your unwavering determination.
Today, let's celebrate the little things that often go unnoticed but mean so much:
Wiggling a finger that was once still 🙌
Taking a few steps without aid 🚶♂️
Holding a cup with a steady hand ☕
Speaking a word or two more clearly 🗣️
A moment of feeling more like you again ✨
These aren't just small wins; they're monumental milestones on the road to recovery. They show that progress is happening, even when it feels slow. Don't be discouraged by the distance yet to travel. Instead, look back at how far you've come and celebrate every single step forward, no matter how small.
Keep pushing, keep believing, and never underestimate the power of those t#ARNIstrokerehab💪#neurorehabilitationR#strokerehabb#strokerecoveryt#incrementalsuccess##smallvictories##neuroplasticitys#strokesurvivore#NeverGiveUpt#RehabJourneyS#brainhealtherGiveUp #RehabJourney #BrainHealth
Garry Wyborn- I’m four years post stroke and doing very well. This is so true. Celebrate the small victories because they can be the beginning of major improvements. You are on a journey and the only way through this journey is hard work. It’s fine to plateau then go again. My journey has involved hundreds and hundreds oh hours of training both in the gym and at home but I’m totally independent. Remember there is only one person who can do the work needed and that is you.
I’m nearly 4 years post and needed to hear that
That’s just what I needed to hear. 16 months in and I think I should be further along, doing more. I forget to look back at how far I have come. Still pushing through and have great friends who push me on, cheer my successes and remind me how far I have come and not be hard on myself. It’s great to have these little reminders so thanks for the post😊
Absolutely—recovery really is a marathon, not a sprint. ❤️ The smallest victories can mean so much, and stroke rehabilitation can continue to bring improvements for months or even years. Those little moments—a finger moving, a steadier cup, clearer words, a few more steps—deserve to be celebrated. They’re reminders of how far someone has already come. 🙌✨ My specialist also recommended THE STROKE RECOVERY ROADMAP by LYDIA T. SAWYER (You can grab it on Am@zøn.). It has helpful ideas for recovery support, healthier meals, wellness habits, simple exercises, better daily balance, and symptom-management strategies. Keep celebrating every win, no matter how small. Progress is progress, and you’re not walking this road alone. 💚🙏
What happens when your progress is slow and your determination wavers?
We have trainers roughout the UK and Southern Ireland ready and waiting to train with you to assist with functional limitations.
These instructors have all been through the ARNI Functional Rehabilitation & Exercise Training after Stroke Qualification.
Please get in touch to find out how we can best help you with your recovery.
Call 0203 053 0111 or email support@arni.uk.com
Phone lines: 9.00am to 5.00pm. Monday-Friday
THERE IS A KNOWLEDGEABLE ARNI RECEPTIONIST TO TAKE YOUR CALL.
IMPORTANT: OUR LINE DOES GET BUSY, SO IF YOU DON’T GET THROUGH FIRST TIME, PLEASE LEAVE A VERY QUICK MESSAGE ON THE ANSWERPHONE AND SOMEONE WILL RING YOU BACK ASAP.
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#neuroplasticity #ARNIstrokerehab #strokeexercise #strokerehabilitation #arnistrokerehab #strokerecovery #neurorehab #strokerehab
A thought for youto start your day .......
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#strokerehabilitation #strokerecovery #strokeexercise #neurorehabilitation #strokerehab #strokerecoveryexercises #exerciseafterstroke #neuroplasticity #neurorehab #StrokeSurvivors #strokerehabilitation #strokerecovery #strokeexercise #neurorehabilitation #strokerehab #strokerecoveryexercises #exerciseafterstroke #neuroplasticity #neurorehab #StrokeSurvivors #strokesurvivorscancan
Could more of your brain have been saved after your stroke? There's now a machine available that can literally hoover the clot straight out of a blocked artery!
This astonishing new machine is called THUNDERBOLT and it's for ischaemic strokes, ie the ones where a big clot blocks a major artery to the brain and every minute counts.. Its been made by Penumbra in California, and the American FDA cleared it for stroke back in June.. and it's also got a European CE mark.
You already know there are two ways to get a clot out; a little mesh 'stent retriever' that grabs it, or steady suction that draws it out. THUNDERBOLT is the suction sort, but the difference is what it does with that suction. Instead of one constant pull, a computer (Penumbra's 'Engine') pulses the vacuum, flicking between a deep vacuum and normal pressure to, in effect, wear the clot down and break its grip on the vessel wall. And it does this very fast; up to 12 times a second!
Pressure sensors let it tell the difference between clot and flowing blood, so it knows when it's actually onto the clot and drags the whole thing into the catheter in one go, rather than the surgeon having to work it loose bit by bit.
Penumbra call the three steps detect, fatigue, ingest, and the whole point is a cleaner, more complete grab, first pass. With around 1.9 million brain cells lost every minute that artery stays blocked, that speed and completeness could mean far far less damage done. We think this is an amazing concept!
A caveat I noticed however in their own literature; they say it 'may' clear clots more completely and 'could' improve outcomes, which obvs isn't the same as being proven to beat what we've already got. Anyway, what do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below ;)
ARNI Stroke Rehab & Recovery says: the faster and cleaner a clot comes out, the better. And also the golden rules of stroke don't change; know the signs and call 999 the second you spot them, because with stroke, we say time is brain… ;)
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#ARNIStrokeRehab #Thrombectomy #StrokeTreatment #StrokeAwareness #TimeIsBrain
Approximately 40% of stroke survivors experience this difficulty: to comprehend or produce spoken or written language caused by a cerebrovascular accident. In half of these cases the language impairment still persists one year post-stroke. Aphasia has wide-ranging effects on the ability to function and quality of life of stroke survivors and easily leads to social isolation.
If you need help, ARNI SLT Telerehab can now help YOU, right now, wherever you are in the world!
The latest evidence shows clearly that you can conquer aphasia very successfully with the help of speech and language therapy.
And it also shows that SLT Telerehab is just as effective as in-person, face to face treatment.
We have a team of highly experienced low-cost specialist SLTs (all post-grads from Universities such as UCL, the University of Cape Town etc) who are available to help you right now, in your home, via Zoom. You get a one to one hourly service, based around your diary needs, from the comfort of your own home, with a highly experienced specialist speech and language therapist. Please enquire to arni.uk.com/get-remote-speech-language-help-now/ !
#aphasia #StrokeSurvivors #strokerecovery #strokerehabilitation #strokerehab #aphasiaawareness #neurorehabilitation #arni #exerciseafterstroke #strokeexercise #strokerecoveryexercises #neuroplasticity #ARNIstrokerehab
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