Essentials of Acute Phase in Stroke Management

Nishika Probodani Silva

Physiotherapist, Sri Lanka

*Correspondence to: Dr. Nishika Probodani Silva, Physiotherapist, Sri Lanka.

Copyright © 2020 Dr. Nishika Probodani Silva. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Whether or not you are active in the medical field, I intended to write this article in a simple manner for the convenience of all. Most of us are aware of the word “Stroke”. As a Sri Lankan physiotherapist, the stroke patients I treat everyday are practically different from the patients we learn in theories.

What are the essential basics we need to know in our practical life to manage the acute phase of stroke. The first two weeks of stroke known as the Acute phase. Not only in Sri Lanka but in many countries people are terrified at the mere mention of the name “stroke” and think of the patient as confined to the bed. Therefore, as I see, the first step in stroke management is to adequately educate the patient, patient’s family members and relatives that way we can set the most out of them. The attitudes of most caregivers is to keep patient’s limbs as relaxed and comfortable as possible, also afraid to move their weakened limbs because they are not properly aware of the disease. The second important point is that the mobilisation and stretching of patient’s each joints at least twice a day, at least ten repetition. This can perform actively by the patient if possible or can perform by the caregiver. It is also essential to turn the patient every two hours to prevent occur pressure sores. Another thing to know is that when placing the patient’s pillow, it should be placed at the patient’s shoulder border. This minimise weakening of the shoulder joint. The fingers of the patient’s hand should be kept in as extended position and feet should be kept in dorsiflex position to prevent the foot drop.

Chest physiotherapy plays a vital role here and it is very essential to get the help of your physiotherapist to maintain the maximum capacity of the lungs while preventing the patient’s respiratory infections. Another factor of acute phase stroke management is playing the music and songs, talking with the patient to maintain the patient’s consciousness whether or not they are in a critical condition.

I hope you have gained some awareness by reading this article written in simple language. We should all always strive to understand stroke correctly and help stroke patients in our society.