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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
I'm out of the hospital. The reason I was in there at all for two weeks is because of blood clots--in my leg (DVT) and lung (pulmonary embolism, PE as an acronym).
No matter what you call it, I feel like a ticking time bomb, never knowing if the time will come where another clot ultimately goes to my brain, and it's lights out--permanently. The docs assured me that wouldn't happen, but who knows? It's just the docs' educated guesses, one after another. I have an educated guess, too. I may be fucked.
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| A stroke survivor |
NORTH AMERICA
Focus: Improving walking and reducing falls post-stroke
Background: California researchers understood that better comprehension of falls was imperative, as broken bones, hips the most common, and head trauma might be the result.
So ambulatory stroke survivors were enrolled in Locomotor Experience Applied Post Stroke (LEAPS) and were assessed 2 months post-stroke. Falls were assessed for 12 months post-stroke and participants were characterized as: multiple or injurious (M/I); single, non-injurious (S/NI); or non-fallers.
Results: The results were alarming. Among the 408 participants, 36% were M/I, 21% S/NI, and 43% non-fallers. A majority of falls occurred at home in the first 3 months. Although multiple fallers are not at higher risk for injury for any given fall, cumulative injury risk increases with each fall. Thus, falls prediction and management for individuals post-stroke should focus on multiple falls.
A primary goal of stroke rehabilitation is to improve individuals’ mobility in the presence of motor, balance, and visual-spatial deficits. Yet, increasing mobility and physical activity increases exposure to fall risks. A review of exercise in older people strongly implies that strength and balance exercises reduce falls, whereas walking training alone may increase them.
Participants were assigned to one of three groups:
- a locomotor training program (LTP) that included use of the treadmill followed by walking practice 2 months post-stroke
- a progressive strength and balance exercise program provided by a physical therapist in the home started 2 months post-stroke.
- late LTP, 6-months post-stroke
Of individuals who fell, 74% had at least one fall from which they could not get up independently. Fall rate per person year was 1.76 overall, 1.33 for moderately impaired walkers, and 2.13 for severely impaired walkers. But here's the thing: Of the three groups, there was no difference in overall fall incidence between 2 and 12 months post-stroke. And between 2 and 6-months post-stroke, both groups receiving early intervention had a higher fall rate than individuals in the late-LTP group. Over-confidence, the researchers theorized.
AUSTRALIA
Focus: Falls in older adults with strokes
Background: This Australian study aimed at two things: probe the differences in the incidence of falls between chronic stroke subjects and matched non-stroke subjects who were 65 years or older and community dwellers, and establishing factors associated with falling with chronic stroke survivors.
Results: More stroke survivors reported falling in the previous twelve months after the stroke than non-stroke subjects (36% vs 24%). When comparing stroke survivors who fell to stroke survivors without any falls, the first group were more likely to report to have difficulty in stooping or kneeling, getting up in the night to urinate more than once, and having a greater problem with activities that involved hygiene, that is, bathing or showering.
ASIA
Focus: Risk factors and management in stroke survivors who have fallen
Background: Israeli researchers found that falls are common events among hospital inpatients and constitute a major health problem in rehabilitation. Many risk factors for stroke falls such as muscle weakness, hypotension, and medication side effects have been identified.
Results: In a 5-year study of 56 falls in 41 stroke patients hospitalized for rehabilitation, 30 patients fell once, 9 patients twice and 2 patients four times, obtained from the medical and nursing records.
Most falls occurred among male patients who had reduced muscular tone (70%), paralysis (54%) and/or hemiparesis (one-sided body weakness). In addition, 48% percent of the falls occurring during the first month, 70% during the morning or the afternoon, and 62% occurred close to the patient's bed.
Also, 89% of stroke survivors' falls were attributed to medication side effects, 29% to communication disorders, 21% to blindness, and 18% visual sensory disorders.
EUROPE
Focus: Patient Falls in Stroke Rehabilitation
Background: Falling is a major complication in stroke rehabilitation. This study intends to investigate the incidence, characteristics, and consequences of falls in an in-patient stroke rehabilitation setting.
Precisely 161 patients were admitted to a geriatric stroke rehabilitation unit. Falls that occurred during their stay were registered and analyzed. The study was performed at the stroke rehabilitation unit of the geriatric clinic at Umeå University Hospital, Sweden. This unit is a 24-bed ward that specializes in stroke care and rehabilitation; patients are usually admitted from acute-care clinics 2 to 4 weeks after their strokes.
Results: 62 of the patients (39%) suffered falls. The total number of falls was 153, which corresponds to an incidence rate of 159 falls per 10,000 patient days. Most falls occurred during transfers or from sitting in a wheelchair or on some other kind of furniture. 17 falls (11%) were classified as the result of extrinsic mechanisms, 49 (32%) were intrinsic falls, 39 (25%) occurred in a sitting or lying position, and 48 falls (31%) remained unclassified. No injury was observed in 109 of 153 incidents (71%), whereas 6 falls (4%) involved fractures or other serious injury.
(Per the above: For falls with an extrinsic precipitating cause, the most significant risk factors were: age, diabetes mellitus, a history of falling, and treatment with neuroleptics or oral bronchodilators. For falls with an intrinsic precipitating cause, the independent risk factors were: age, diabetes, dementia, alterations of gait and balance, previous falls, and treatment with digitalins, neuroleptics or antidepressants).
AFRICA
Focus: Gait and balance performance of stroke survivors in South Western Nigeria
Background: Stroke survivors are often left with neurological and functional deficits, which impair their ability to walk and affect their balance. This study assessed gait parameters and balance performance among stroke survivors.
Results: Seventy stroke survivors (65% males) who were 6 months or more post stroke participated in this study. The gait of participants was assessed by gait speed and cadence (rhythmic flow). Balance performance was assessed using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale for balance self-efficacy and Functional Reach Test for standing balance.
Participants were 43 to 65 years in age. Forty five (64%) stroke survivors had hemorrhagic strokes while 25 (36%) had ischemic stroke. There were significant relationships between gait speed and balance self-efficacy and between cadence and functional reach distance.
The study concluded that stroke survivors with higher cadences had higher functional reach distances, and those with higher gait speeds had better balance.
About 35% of survivors with initial paralysis of the leg do not regain useful walking function, and 25% of all survivors are unable to walk without full physical assistance. They also demonstrate postural control problems such as loss of anticipatory activation during voluntary movements, increased sway during quiet standing, especially on the affected side, and decreased area of stability during weight shifting while standing.
Postural balance is closely related to gait ability. A strong relationship has been reported between gait velocity and dynamic balance in the acute rehabilitation period among patients with first time stroke.
"We did not find significant differences in the gait speed and cadence between fallers and non-fallers, though the non-fallers had higher gait speed and cadence values. The reason for this result may be because all our participants could ambulate independently and therefore had similar gait speeds and balance performance," say the researchers.
Stroke survivors with higher cadences had higher functional reach distances, and those with higher gait speeds had better balance. This implies that gait speed and cadence are factors related to balance performance and should be considered during balance and gait retraining.
South America
There should have been 6 continents in my review about falls and stroke survivors, but The American Heart Association says the following about South America:
"Current knowledge of stroke risk factors and epidemiology is based mostly on North American or European studies; so scarce data have been published from developing countries. Stroke will be a public health problem in South America during the next decades because of an increase in life expectancy and changes in the lifestyle of the population. Because epidemiological and clinical characteristics of stroke vary according to environmental, racial, and socio-cultural factors, we need to be aware of the peculiarities of stroke on this continent to reduce the impact burden of this epidemic."
Preventing Falls
These are my new ways to go about preventing falls. I tried all of them and I haven't had any falls in a year since I began implementing these tips:
- Use nightlights in bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways. If the light bothers your eyes, wear a mask. I don't. I deal with it. But either way.
- Sit on a bench or stool with a handle in the shower and use a hand-held showerhead.
- Secure area rugs with double-sided tape.
- Review medications with your doctor as some may cause dizziness and balance problems.
- Slow down and take all the time you need when walking. There is no need to hurry, and it may be safer to go more slowly. By the way, since most of my falls were in the kitchen, bending over to pick up something that landed me on the floor, I bought a used wheelchair, got a new cushion, and always use it when I've dropped something on the floor. I sit, retrieve, and stand. So much easier!
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