Let’s Talk About Stroke!

With May being National Stroke Awareness month, it is important to know that stroke is a medical emergency that is highly preventable, with exercise being key to such prevention.  The effects of living a more sedentary lifestyle can vastly increase an individual’s chances of experiencing a stroke at some point in life.  Living an active life can go a long way toward preventing stroke, especially since nearly 800,000 people suffer strokes in the U.S. each year according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  You should also know that stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the U.S, that someone has a stroke every 40 seconds and that every 4 minutes someone dies of stroke.

These are alarming statistics…  We have enough control over our lives to reversed them immediately!

But how do you know if someone is having a stroke?  Just think of “BE FAST“.

Exercise is medicine!

Knowing the risk factors is crucial to preventing stroke.  Some of them such as family history, age, gender, race and previous heart attack or stroke, cannot be altered.  However, changes such an improved diet or quitting smoking can make a great impact in stroke prevention.  In addition, physical therapists can help you point out the countless ways movement and exercise can improve quality of life and help to prevent such major medical emergencies.  It’s hard to ignore the many benefits of regular physical activity, and everyone can benefit from exercise regardless of age, sex or physical ability.  Regular exercise can help to maintain a healthy weight, improve energy and mood, lower blood pressure and reduce the chances of suffering a stroke.

If an individual has had the misfortune of experiencing a stroke, physical therapy is essential in the recovery process.  Our physical therapy programs at Core Performance PT can help restore movement, lessen disability and improve quality of living.  Our providers will work with stroke patients to further improve balance ability and retrain motor skills, which will help to maintain a higher level of independence and regain a sense of normalcy.  It is our goal to get you to where you need to be in order to maximize your quality of living and be more proactive in living a healthy and injury-free life.