by Ram
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| Sunflowers by Melina Meza |
Symptoms of a stroke include but not limited to: failure to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, inability to understand conversation, difficulty formulating speech, numbness, postural instability and imbalance, and vision impairment. A stroke can cause severe brain damage, long-term disability, or even death. Prevention is the best remedy for people who are at risk. Interventions include a regular wholesome diet, physical exercise, avoiding smoking, and limiting alcohol use, among others.
Victims of stroke have to undergo several weeks or months of rehabilitation in order to return to normal daily living. The rehab process helps the victim restore and relearn lost skills arising from the brain damage. If the stroke victim is experiencing any severe disabilities, the rehabilitation process teaches them alternate ways to perform those tasks and to overcome those disabilities. According to most experts, a successful rehabilitation program is one that is carefully directed and well-focused, with emphasis on repetitive practice—all of which enables victims to regain their lost motor function and skill sets. Skills include ability to walk, use of hand movements, communication, speaking, bathing and dressing, among others. Victims also engage in physical exercises, including passive or active range of motion exercises to strengthen their limbs. Patients may progress from sitting up and being moved to standing, balancing, and walking, with or without assistance. Rehabilitation is an ongoing process until the victims are able to successfully carry out basic activities of daily living independently. Depending on the extent of stroke, this may take months or even several years.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the United States. While 40% of stroke patients suffer from moderate functional impairment, 15% to 30% of victims are left with severe disability. Effective rehabilitation interventions initiated early on can boost the recovery process and lessen functional disability. Approximately, seven million people in the US suffer from the chronic effects of stroke and only 14% of these victims recover completely after one year of rehabilitation programs. Thus, there is a greater need to improve functional outcomes following stroke. Stroke victims need to engage in physical activities despite being very fearful. Can yoga be used in rehabilitation programs and be helpful to stroke victims in their recovery process?
Apparently, yes! A recent study Yoga leads to multiple physical improvements after stroke, a pilot study. showed that yoga not only improves physical function, it also helps patients to overcome the fear of physical activity. The goal of the study was to assess the changes in physical function in people with chronic stroke after an eight-week yoga therapy program. The parameters measured included pain, strength, endurance and range of motion, as these are most affected after a stroke. A total of 47 people were enrolled in the study. All participants were older than 18 years of age, had completed all stroke inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and were able to stand without a device and follow directions. There were two groups in the study: the yoga group and the control group. The control group was actually a wait-listed group (n=10 people), who were offered yoga after completion of all assessments. The authors fail to mention if the people in the control group were on any medication or if they were doing some other physical activities.
Patients in the yoga group participated in group yoga therapy sessions with 10 people per group. Each yoga session was one hour long, and participants engaged in two yoga sessions per week for a total of eight weeks. The yoga session, which was taught by a certified yoga therapist, included sitting, standing, and supine hatha yoga poses and ended with meditation and relaxation. At the end of the eight-week period, the researchers noted that the yoga therapy group showed significant improvement in many aspects of physical function. Nearly all of the people in the yoga group described their pain levels as significantly reduced. Endurance had also significantly improved in the yoga group as they were able to walk farther in a six-minute walk test compared to the non-yoga group. Bilateral neck and hamstring range of motion and upper extremity strength significantly improved in the yoga group compared to non-yoga control group.
Thus, the research study clearly demonstrated that in just two sessions/week for an eight-week period (16 yoga classes) there were radical changes in several physical functional parameters in stroke victims, including pain, range of motion, endurance and strength, all of which correlated with improved functional outcomes. The researchers also speculate that in addition to improvements in the physical body, yoga may have also helped patients to develop more awareness that in turn led to a better recovery. Despite some limitations to this study (small sample size, an non-blinded trial, involvement of the main researcher with the yoga therapy group), yoga definitely appeared to have a positive impact on stroke victims by not only improving physical function, but also the quality of life. I guess you will agree with me that we cannot find a better, cheaper, more effective and environmentally friendly therapy for recovery after a stroke.
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