Stroke recovery typically involves some form of stroke treatment. Approximately thirty million Americans are affect every year by a stroke. A stroke means that oxygen carried by blood has been somehow compromised to an area of the brain. This can happen by an occlusion or something that physically blocks the blood such as a blood clot. It can also happen when a blood vessel bursts, which is called a hemorrhage and results in a bleed. The outcome for both causes is the same, the damaged area of the brain has impaired functioning.

The amount of stroke treatment needed is proportional to the damage that the stroke has caused. The extent of the damage to the brain area depends on how bad the stroke was. The post stroke issues are also determined by which areas of the brain were affected by the stroke. The brain has different areas that specialize in different jobs; therefore damage to a specific area will have specific deficits. Retraining that deficit will be part of stroke treatment.

What actually happens in stroke treatment that allows processes like stroke rehabilitation to work? Scientists have found out that the brain can change and adapt. When the brain learns new things there are actually physical changes taking place in the brain. This term is called neuroplasticity. It is basically the process of learning, this can be learning a new movement like moving your arm, or learning a new cognitive skill like a language. For a stroke survivor in the initial stages of stroke treatment they are usually not learning new skills but re-learning old skills. This may mean relearning how to move a limb or how to speak.

On the cellular level stroke treatment starts to help cells communicate to each other. For example the cells that want to move your arm must start to communicate to the cells that are responsible for movement. When first learning or re-learning this skill the communication pathway can be likened to trying to tread a path through a forest, it is hard to find a path the first time. But over time as the same path is tread over and over again, a certain groove will be worn out and a clearer path will develop that will be much easier to walk along. The same is true with the brain, the communication becomes stronger and easier to do. Such is the goal with stroke treatment.

Stroke treatment enables the brain to form new connections so it can better perform any tasks that it was having difficulty with. This is an important part of the rehabilitation process and is vital for stroke recovery. There is a severe lack of the latest and best stroke rehabilitation exposure to most stroke survivors. Many survivors are incorrectly informed about their potential for recovery and their rehab is an outdated rushed process that leaves them well short of their recovery. I would hope that all stroke survivors are properly educated with how the brain recovers during stroke rehabilitation and that they have access to the best and newest stroke treatment.