Stroke Know-How

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At all times—whether lying in bed, sitting, or walking—proper body positioning is essential for maintaining your body’s ‘integrity,’ the soundness of the body. Proper positioning will help to prevent the development of contractures, which are a shortening of muscles around the joints.

“I find it very hard to keep track of my medications. With so many, it’s hard for me to remember to take a certain medication, and then if I took it. I use a seven-day pill organizer, with compartments marked: morning, noon, night, bedtime. My daughter, Lynn, helps me. We downloaded the Medication Toolkit and put it up on the refrigerator door. There is a place to write each medication, and a place to check it off. Either my aide or I check it off when I take a med.”

Complete bed rest de-conditions the body, lowers capacity of the heart’s pumping rate, reduces lung capacity, alters blood pressure, and increases susceptibility to pneumonia. Take these steps to wake-up with your best foot forward. Before transferring out of bed: Plan ahead. Move without making abrupt changes in your position to avoid becoming dizzy. Before you sit up, roll from side to side to involve both sides of your body. Do some slow stretches in bed to ease stiffness after sleep. After that, feel the ground under your feet before getting up. This gives a greater sense of balance.