Achieving Neurological and Functional Recovery Post-Stroke using Rehabilitation
Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers, killing more women than breast cancer, and more men than prostate cancer. It is unfortunately a common medical condition, in fact in 2017, almost every nine minutes, a person has a stroke. The financial cost of stroke is estimated to be AUD$ 5 billion each year.
Stroke is serious medical condition which occurs when there is an interruption in the blood supply to a part of the brain. If the blood supply to the brain stops or becomes restricted, the brain cells begin to die. Stroke is a medical emergency, and time is critical to the sufferer’s survival.
A person who suffers from a stroke attack can potentially be disabled. The type and the severity of the disability also depends on the part of the brain that has been damaged. In general, stroke can result in five different types of disabilities which include: Paralysis or problems in movement or motor control, sensory disturbances, problems communicating or using/understanding language, problems with thinking and memory, and emotional disturbances.
Post-stroke rehabilitation involves many different specialists, including physicians, rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational and recreational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and vocational therapists. Of course, every patient won’t have to meet all the specialists mentioned, it all depends on the disability or impairments the patients are suffering from.
Rehabilitation is found to be most beneficial when commenced early, though sometimes recovery from stroke-related impairments is still possible to be done years after. The stroke rehabilitation process includes setting a goal and predicting an outcome to achieve a neurological and functional recovery. Functional recovery is modifiable and is dependent on the individual’s motivation and learning ability. It is also influenced by quality and intensity of therapy, compensatory or adaptive learning strategies, as well as other extrinsic factors like social/family support.
Dr. Vandana Vasudevan MBBS, MRCP (UK), FAFRM, Rehabilitation Physician, discussed extensively about stroke rehabilitation in the new eLearning course from The University of Melbourne – Mobile Learning Unit, titled “Neurological Rehabilitation eLearning”. In the ‘Stroke Rehabilitation’ tutorial, Dr. Vasudevan provides an overview of epidemiology and pathophysiology of stroke, she talked through the stroke syndromes, and patient assessment and goal-setting process in stroke rehabilitation.
This eLearning course is directed by Professor Mary Galea, the Academic Director of the Australian Rehabilitation Research Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Professor Fary Khan, the Director of Rehabilitation Services and Clinical Director of the Australian Rehabilitation Research Centre at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The course is accessible from any smart device with an internet connection, can be commenced anywhere and anytime.
To learn more about this online course, please visit