Stroke is a severe pathology that almost always causes damage to the motor centers. Restore the functionality of the body will help massage. In strokes, experts recommend starting rehabilitation as soon as possible. At first, a massage should be carried out by an experienced specialist.
Massage goals
Acute cerebrovascular accident occurs mainly in patients with vascular pathology, diabetes mellitus, a history of arterial hypertension. Almost always, a stroke causes paresis - a violation of the motor activity of the right or left side of the body. Raise to the feet of even severe patients allows massage.
Patients with stroke begin to prepare for the rehabilitation period already on the 3rd-6th day after the attack (in the absence of contraindications). Massage after a stroke allows you to:
- improve the work of internal organs;
- relax spasmodic muscles;
- reduce the severity of pain;
- establish blood circulation in the paralyzed part of the body;
- prevent the formation of pressure sores.
In a hospital, therapeutic massage for strokes is carried out only by a specialist, given the severity of the patient's condition. In the future, one of the patient's relatives can master the special technique and perform massage at home.
General recommendations
Depending on the type of stroke, the timing for starting massage therapy will vary. With the ischemic type, you can start the procedure on the 2-3rd day. If the patient has a hemorrhagic stroke, recovery should begin on the 6-7th day. The duration of the first procedures should not exceed 5 minutes. Before starting the massage, the specialist should receive recommendations from the attending physician regarding a specific patient.
Each session should begin with an assessment of the patient's state of change and response. The specialist pays attention to the dynamics, mobility, muscle tone, atrophy. This allows you to choose the optimal massage technique at this stage.
Massage sessions allow you to influence not only the physical, but also the psychological state of the patient. It is important for the patient to get support from others in order to overcome the disease faster. When performing the massage, the patient should be in a supine position. It is strictly forbidden to turn it over on the stomach in the first sessions!
Where to begin?
Massage for strokes begins with warming up the body. In this case, the specialist’s hands should also be warm. This will avoid the appearance of hyperkinetic reflexes in paralyzed limbs. It is forbidden to tap, press or rub massaged parts of the body. Special exercises aimed at relaxation begin to be carried out on a healthy part of the body, gradually moving to the affected one.
Experts recommend to carry out movements only in the course of blood flow. It is necessary to start massaging the hands with the hands and gradually move to the shoulders. From the chest, the specialist gradually moves to massaging the shoulders, then the armpits. The back begins to work out from the shoulders, moving to the lower back.
Proper movements should not bring pain to the patient. The appearance of pain indicates too intense massage. Each technique must be repeated at least three times. With a daily massage, the symptoms of the disease will begin to recede rather quickly. The duration of the recovery period after a stroke will depend on the severity of the brain lesion. If medical care was provided on time and rehabilitation began in the first days after the attack, the chances of returning to your previous life are significantly increased.
Massage Rules
Loss of speech and vision, paresis of limbs, impaired functioning of internal organs are serious complications that lead to a stroke. Recovery after a seizure is not only in intensive drug therapy, but also in physical impact. Massage is of great benefit. Properly selected technique allows you to speed up the process of restoring motor activity.
It is important to follow the rules of massage and monitor the condition of the patient. For the procedure, it is necessary that the body is in the correct position: the upper body should be slightly higher than the lower. The patient may be in bed or on a massage table. Manipulation can be done only a few hours after a meal.
Massage begins to do with the upper body. The specialist should work out the cervical muscles. Massaging the arms, back and legs is necessary from the center to the periphery in order to avoid an increase in blood pressure. If the patient does not suffer from high blood pressure, massage is carried out according to the standard method - from the limbs to the center.
What can not be done?
The main goal of therapeutic massage is to establish blood circulation and eliminate pain in the paralyzed part of the body. Therefore, tapping and intense rubbing of paralyzed areas of the body should be excluded. It is also forbidden to do squeezing using weights. It is not permissible to strike with the edge of the palm of the hand.
Squeezing movements are allowed to be performed in a minimum amount, so as not to provoke an increase in pressure in the vessels. It is forbidden to lay the patient on the paralyzed side or on the stomach for the first time after an attack.
Contraindications to massage
Most patients after a stroke are prescribed massage sessions. However, there are some contraindications to this type of rehabilitation. First of all, this applies to the period of exacerbation or acute condition. Therefore, in a hospital, massage can only be performed by a specialist, after consulting with the attending physician of the patient.
Contraindication to performing manipulations is fever, headache or heartache, disruption of internal organs, coma, breathing problems.
Aids
During massage it is important to prevent body rubbing. To do this, you can use special tools - ointments, massage oils, which will provide glide and help reduce irritation of the massed areas.
Ointments are allowed to be used only as prescribed by your doctor. This can be a means to reduce the swelling of paralyzed parts of the body, prevention of pressure sores and diaper rash.
As auxiliary agents, massage oil is most often used . It helps to significantly reduce friction during the procedure.
Massage after a stroke at home
Massage is a traditional recovery method that is used at any stage of the disease. In this case, the technique should be different from classic massage. At first, intensive actions cannot be performed, because the patient does not have a high muscle tone (hemiplegia).
Massage at home can be performed by both the patient's relatives and a qualified specialist. The cost of the services of the latter ranges from 350 to 900 rubles per session. Usually a massage therapist is hired to conduct the first course of procedures.
Massage begins with special exercises to achieve relaxation of muscle tissue in the affected areas. The limbs should be in a natural position to reduce muscle contracture.
A pronounced positive effect from the procedure can be obtained only if the patient’s skin is preheated. For this purpose, you can use a warm heating pad (with caution). Rehabilitologists recommend a massage after hygiene procedures. It is necessary to combine massage movements with passive, and then with active exercises.
Hand massage
Doctors note that the early start of rehabilitation allows you to quickly restore lost motor functions. At the same time, resuscitation should be provided on time. Medication should be started within the first hours after the attack. In the first stages, massage for strokes is carried out only under the supervision of a neurologist. The doctor determines the time of the procedure and the intensity.
To restore the function of the affected arm, massages are performed daily. The course of physiotherapy is 15-20 sessions. If the patient has an ischemic stroke, massage of the arm and other affected parts of the body is indicated on the second day. You can start physiotherapy when the patient is in a supine position. As you recover, massage your hands in a sitting position. The paralyzed arm should be on the table.
Particular attention is paid to the palm, which needs to return both motor and tactile functions. Massage of the forearm begins from the outside. With smooth movements, the rehabilitologist moves toward the inside. Massage triceps begin from the elbow joint, gradually moving to the shoulder. Relatives of the patient can master the massage at home after mastering the technique.
Basic tricks
Start massaging your hand with a stroking technique. The masseur gently slides his hand over the patient's skin. This allows you to achieve relaxation of muscle tissue and enhance metabolic processes. Deep stroking improves blood circulation in a paralyzed area.
Rubbing consists in mixing the skin of the patient in various directions. Skin folds should form. The movements of the masseur can be rectilinear, circular or zigzag.
Kneading allows you to increase the tone of muscle fibers. During administration, the muscle is grabbed, lifted (pulled) and squeezed. Such manipulations provide an effect on the deep muscles.
To relax the muscles perform a technique such as vibration. Light oscillatory movements, shaking are carried out within 7-10 seconds.
Foot massage after a stroke
Before proceeding to massage the lower extremities, it is necessary to reduce the excitability of spinal motor cells. For this, they begin to affect the paravertebral zones of the thoracic region (lower part). Then proceed to massage the legs.
It is necessary to work out the lower extremities from a healthy thigh. For a paralyzed leg, massage begins with stroking and light rubbing with the fingertips. Movements are performed from the popliteal fossa, gradually moving to the gluteal fold.
The lower leg is massaged more intensely. The direction of movement is from the ankle to the knee (when massaging the front). To remove the tone from the back surface of the lower leg, it is necessary to move from the calcaneus to the popliteal fossa. For the foot, stroking, light grinding and kneading are indicated.