Does Reaching a Plateau Really Happen?

Rebecca Dutton
Home After a Stroke

February 13, 2015

Regaining a skill eleven years after my stroke made me wonder why I believed in plateaus when I was an OT.  In rehab, a plateau means recovery has stopped.  Here are four factors that changed my belief about recovery after a stroke.

What Has Changed.

1. Brain plasticity will blow your mind. Click here to learn how an adult's brain grows new stem cells every night and makes them migrate to where they are needed.
2. New technology includes brain stimulation with magnets and muscle stimulation with biofeedback.  To learn about NeuroMove click here.
3. People who have a stroke as young or middle-aged adults have higher expectations placed on them that people who have strokes in
4. their 70s and 80s.  Family members cannot maintain their own health if they do everything for a disabled adult for decades.  Assisted living where assistance costs extra is an expensive long-term solution many families cannot afford.  Necessity can drive progress.
5. Blogging allows stroke survivors to share their triumphs.  I know my continued progress is not unique.

What Perpetuates the Myth.  Therapists see clients for days or weeks.  This small window is suited to orthopedic cases like hip replacements because bones and muscles repair themselves fairly quickly.  Brain recovery takes longer because the brain is so complex.  Therapists do not see the progress stroke survivors make in the next stage of rehab (e.g. out-patient) or after therapy ends.

The Alternative.  Using the word plateau shuts down the conversation.  "Will I get better?" is an opportunity to ask if there is something a client wants to do.  Here is something I wanted.  I have baby-fine short hair so I need a good haircut.  Before I sit down in a beauty salon chair I have to back up and then straddle the wide footrest.  The chair was initially an obstacle to having a good hair day so I never get tired of defeating it.  Challenges that pushed my continued recovery were walking backwards, twisting my trunk so I can reach far behind me to grab the armrest, and sitting down with my feet 18 inches apart.

The Bottom Line.  Skill acquisition can stop because of our beliefs as well as our abilities.  My progress has slowed over the years, but I have repeatedly seen new goals spur new gains.  This evidence has changed what I think will happen to me.

See the original article:

Does Reaching a Plateau Really Happen?

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