Stroke Rehabilitation

What We Treat

Our team has the training, experience and tools to help you or a loved one overcome the challenges that follow a stroke. These challenges can include:

• Cognitive issues, such as problems with memory and attention
• Difficulty with daily tasks, like getting dressed and cooking
• Aphasia which affects your ability to understand and use language
• Hemiparesis, weakness on one side of the body
• Shoulder pain
• Problems with vision

Stroke Recovery: Inpatient Treatments

A stroke can damage a part of your brain that’s in charge of specific tasks. Rehabilitation focuses on getting other brain cells to help out with those tasks.

To give your brain and body as much practice as possible, we start your rehab while you’re still at the hospital. From there, you might move to one of our rehabilitation hospitals, where we schedule you for at least 3 hours of therapy a day.

Our inpatient services include:

• Evaluation to determine what type of rehabilitation you need.
• Physical therapy to help you regain mobility and body control. Early in recovery, you may need to start with the basics, such as getting up from a seated position and learning to walk short distances safely.
• Speech therapy to help you swallow safely, communicate and think clearly again.
• Occupational therapy to help you increase your strength and range of motion to do daily tasks like bathing and dressing.
• Pet therapy, which involves brushing and interacting with pets to help you redevelop motor skills and relieve stress.
• Recreational therapy to help you get back to the activities you enjoyed before your stroke, as well as find new activities to explore.

Stroke Rehabilitation: Outpatient Treatments

Once you go home, you may continue your rehabilitation at one of our many outpatient therapy clinics across the Charlotte area. Outpatient therapy may include:

• Physical, speech, occupational and recreational therapy that builds on your progress as an inpatient.
• Advanced machines to analyze your movements and help you exercise, such as leg and arm bikes, motorized walking devices, and computers that monitor your body’s electrical signals while you perform tasks.
• Driving evaluations to gauge your comfort, skills and safety behind the wheel.
• Other specialty therapies, such as aquatic therapy, wheelchair education, psychotherapy, bracing and splinting, and spasticity management.

Your Care Team

Our team includes all the experts you need to rebuild your skills, mobility and well-being, including:

• Physiatrists who specialize in rehabilitation and oversee your care, including treating any medical issues you may have in addition to your rehab needs.
• Physical therapists who help you regain your strength and balance for walking safely.
• Exercise physiologists who can teach you fitness and exercise strategies that benefit your body.
• Speech pathologists who help you swallow safely, speak clearly and regain language and thinking skills.
• Occupational therapists who help you regain strength and mobility in your arms and improve visual processing skills so you can manage activities of daily life.
• Social workers who help you and your family adjust to life beyond the hospital, including emotional support and connecting you with community resources.

Supportive Services

We do everything we can to help you regain independence and help you thrive. This means providing services and opportunities that go beyond inpatient and outpatient therapy, such as:

• Adaptive Sports & Adventure Program (ASAP): This program offers a variety of sports and outdoor activities to people with physical disability who want to maintain an active and exciting life. ASAP is open to all ages and includes everything from rugby to water skiing.
• Community Fitness Center: Allows you access to our therapy gym for a small monthly fee to continue your therapy with exercise machines, space and a personalized fitness program you may not have at home. Ask your therapists how to sign up.
• Carolinas Stroke Support Group: Carolinas Rehabilitation hosts multiple support groups across the area where stroke survivors and their loved ones share information and insights about life after stroke. We also often have guest speakers to lead discussion on various stroke related topics. All are welcome at no cost.