Engaging activities for stroke recovery

What is a stroke?

The NHS has described a stroke as a life-threatening medical condition that is caused when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut-off. The sooner a person receives treatment for a stroke, the less damage is likely to happen. Recognizing the signs of a stroke, such as sudden weakness, speech difficulties, or vision problems, is crucial for prompt action. Recovery after a stroke can vary significantly, but early intervention greatly increases the chances of regaining lost function and improving quality of life. Therefore, if you suspect someone is having a stroke, call emergency services immediately.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of a stroke can be remembered with the words FAST:

Face – the face may have dropped on one side and the person may not be able to smile, or their mouth or eye may have dropped.

Arms – the person with suspected stroke may not be able to lift both arms and keep them up due to weakness or numbness in one arm.

Speech – their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake; they may also have problems understanding what you’re saying to them.

Time – it’s time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms.

A stroke can occasionally cause different symptoms. This can include the following:

• Dizziness
• Problems with balance and coordination
• Sudden loss or blurring of vision
• Loss of consciousness

Side effects of a stroke

The most common effects of a stroke include:

• Partial paralysis (usually on one side of your body) – one of the most common physical effects of a stroke, can range from mild weakness to complete loss of movement.
• Visual problems – if stroke affects the part of the body responsible for vision, this leads to visual problems such as double vision, blurred vision, loss of peripheral vision and difficulty seeing in low light.
• Altered mood – stroke can impact emotions, leading to anxiety, frustration, depression and personality changes.
• Memory loss – affecting memory, stroke can make it difficult to remember recent information, names or events.

Engaging activities for stroke recovery

Recovering from a stroke can present a range of physical and emotional challenges, including reduced mobility, fatigue, and low mood or depression. While progress will need to begin gradually, meaningful and enjoyable activities can play a vital role in supporting rehabilitation. Engaging in different activities not only aids recovery but also helps restore confidence, independence, and overall quality of life. Many activities can be made accessible for any recovery stage.

Arts and crafts

Arts and crafts engage the brain as well as improves hand and eye coordination. Some activities include paper crafts, flower arranging, scrapbooking, or woodwork.

Paper craft such as origami help strengthen fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Scrapbooking invokes emotional expression and enhances memory recall by encouraging you to tell your story through photos and memorabilia.

Flower arranging promotes sensory stimulation through texture, scent and colour, while fostering mindfulness.

Brain training

Brain training includes fun activities suitable for people at most stages of stroke recovery. It can be easily tailored to your recovery stage. This could be attempting a jigsaw puzzle, crossword, sudoku, memory game, board game, or a spot of mental arithmetic depending on the patient’s preferences.

Cooking

Cooking is a multi-sensory activity that can be done individually or with family and friends.. Cooking works towards enhancing the understanding of nutritional intake and enables the adoption of a good diet. Cooking reinforces following step-by-step instructions, numeracy while measuring ingredients and safe use of kitchen tools.

Days out

At later stages of recovery, planning local days are crucial for environmental and social enrichment. This gives a change of scenery and an opportunity to interact with friends and people in the community. Start with short, local trips and build up to longer trips as the recovery continues. Planning and navigating these trips stimulate organisation, memory and spatial orientation skills.

Games for stroke patients to help rehabilitation

Games are ideal for improving memory, attention and problem solving skills in a fun environment. It promotes social interaction, a range of cognitive abilities and strategic thinking.

Jenga requires mental and physical coordination when stacking blocks and trying to keep the tower from collapsing. It sharpens balance control, spatial awareness and requires steady hand coordination, making it ideal for practicing motor skills.

Scrabble involves a range of skills that you can work on, such as using simple math to add up the scores. Cognitive flexibility is necessary to come up with words and the mechanics of the game include simple control-and-release tasks. It also supports language recovery as it encourages vocabulary recall and spelling.

Poker’s complexity supports logical reasoning, memory retention and pattern recognition. It trains other skills like categorisation, sequencing and reading social cues, all of which are important cognitive skills.

Gentle exercise and physiotherapy

Gentle exercise and physiotherapy assists in regaining muscle and movement capacity. Activities like chair yoga, light stretching and tai chi can improve balance, circulation and muscle tone. These can be done indoors, outdoors, individually, in group settings, in person or online. However, it is always important to follow your medical teams’ advice and engage in the exercise or physiotherapy recommended by them.

Group activities

Group activities promotes social interaction, emotional wellbeing and cognitive stimulation. They can also be adapted to suit varying levels of ability.

Trivia or quiz nights stimulates recall and language. These sessions encourage friendly competition, teamwork and conversation, making it ideal for cognitive engagement in a relaxed setting.

Gardening clubs gives a sense of purpose and sensory stimulation. Whether it is planting, caring for plants or watering them it promotes physical activity and team work.

Drumming or rhythm circles enhances group synchronisation and coordination. It encourages building rhythm together, following patterns and engaging with others non-verbally, through movement and sound.

Knitting

Knitting as a repetitive, relaxing activity may be helpful to take your mind off of recovery. It provides a productive outlet for creativity. Moreover, knitting aids such as  larger needles, wrist supports or looms, are available for those with limited function in their hands.

Meditation

Meditating is an effective way to reduce stress and approach life with added positivity, two aspects that are very important in stroke recovery. This can be as easy as setting aside some time to sit quietly each day, to focus on breathing and collecting thoughts. Just 5-10 minutes a day can improve overall mood.

Music

Playing or learning to play a new instrument aids rhythm and bilateral coordination. Listening to familiar songs may trigger emotional responses and positive memories. Listening to music while including light movement like dancing or toe-tapping can improve mood as well as introduce an element of exercise.

Online Activities

Online stroke activities can help support with recovery, regardless of how long you have been living with stroke. It offers a wide range of virtual sessions to choose from such as exercise groups, social quizzes and joining a community of those who have had similar experiences.

Photography

A great way to practice creative expression with gentle physical effort. It focuses on fine motor control, focus and perspective-taking, which can help rediscover the smaller details in life, all while being outdoors.

Reading and writing

Reading and writing not only improve dexterity and rebuild literacy skills but also support memory and communication.

Writing tasks such as composing letters and memoirs and journaling support narrative thinking and emotional expression

Reading aloud improves comprehension and speech fluency.

Audiobooks or speech-to-text apps can help those with more limited writing or reading abilities.

How can Cavendish Homecare help?

A stroke can have life-changing effects on a person, as well as their family. At Cavendish Homecare, we are experts in providing private homecare for individuals who have suffered a stroke and want to remain in their own homes whilst they recover. We work to support the patient and their family with private care to reduce pain, improve comfort and quality of life.

Our services are homecare services wide-ranging, and we tailor our care to each unique person. It is never a ‘one size fits all’ solution or pre-determined care offering. We will discuss individual needs and requirements, so you receive the best care possible. From stroke homecare, to mental health homecare and post-operative care at home, we can cater to a wide range of needs after a stroke.

If you would like to enquire about a specialist care package, contact us on, 02030085210 or email us at info@cavendishhomecare.com