Effective Neurological Treatments Post-Stroke

As per the American Heart Association's 2023 annual report, heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in America. Heart disease and stroke top the list overcancer, (Tsao et al., 2023). Of those that live, stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability compared to all other diagnoses, (Young et al., 2023). Given the high prevalence of stroke survivors and the high disability rate, rehabilitation therapists are charged with improving the lives and recoveryof these survivors at a quick rate. All rehabilitation settings are treating stroke survivors with pressure for shorter visits from insurance companies. But what are the most effective treatments for rehabilitation therapists to use in minimizing long-term disability? This 6-hour course will review the current research on effective neurological treatments and introduce easy-to-use tools for mitigating tone, hemiparesis/ hemiplegia, apraxia, agnosia, foot drop, shoulder subluxation, and edema. Therapists will leave with increased confidence and treatments for effective stroke recovery no matter the setting.

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants

Highlights

• Easy-to-use neurological treatments for tone/spasticity management in the upper and lower extremities
• Incorporate evidence-based treatments to eliminate neurological edema in the upper and lower extremities
• Effective treatments for shoulder subluxation and foot drop in the stroke patient to allow for participation in therapeutic tasks
• Evidence-based treatments for hemiparesis/hemiplegia that can be incorporated into all settings
• Effective evaluation and treatments for apraxia
• Evidence-based treatments for rare types of strokes and agnosia status post-stroke