There are many reasons that you may not be getting all the therapy that you need or want. The “system” is not set up for longer term services to support a Stroke Survivor. Many people begin to feel stressed at the thought of finishing with therapy. Concerns of how to keep improving and how to find continued support start to creep in. You may wonder what you can do for yourself to continue your improvement.
Well, you have a lot more skill in this area than you think! While you may have been working with “Experts” in your therapy sessions, you may not have realized that you have also been working with an “Amateur” therapist in those sessions as well.
That “Amateur” therapist is you.
If we simply look at your movement therapies, you would have been seen by people who did lots of studies to become expert in their field. Your Physical Therapists are experts in human movement. But, you are already a skilled amateur in human movement.
Don’t think that is true? Let me ask - have you ever seen anyone moving around and you think “they seem sad”? Or, maybe you have seen someone moving around in the grocery store and known that the person is having trouble finding what they are shopping for? How do you know these things? Did these people tell you they were sad or that they were having trouble? Nope- you know from how they are moving around. You have a life experience that tells you what typical movement is and you can see when movement is not typical. In life, you may have taken action by asking a person if you can help them. When it comes to being your own therapist, you can ask “What is it that I need to do to help myself”
Take your Amateur knowledge and with some additional instruction and support from me, you can become a more effective therapist for yourself.
There are some simple and effective ways to start to implement these strategies. One of the first ones is to know what is typical for any movement or activity. Let’s really get specific and look at how your foot moves. When you are walking, how does your less affected foot move? Or, look at how other people's feet move when they walk. As you take a step forward the front of the foot should be lifting up. If it does not lift up, one of 2 things will happen: the foot will drag the ground or a person will do things at the knee, hip and trunk to be sure the foot doesn’t drag.
So, if you are noticing that your foot doesn’t lift, that is something you can focus on improving. The foot is an often overlooked but very important part of walking and balance. And, I think that focusing on improving movement and control in the foot helps lots of different areas of movement.
If you feel like your foot is not lifting like it needs to and you want some specific strategies to help you can look at the Foot Drop Plan of Action that I created. Click Here
So, while you may have to be separated from your “expert” support team, you have lots of skills and I am here to help you as well.
Want to see if working with me virtually One on One is the right fit for you. Click Here for a free 30 Minute Online Discovery visit Click Here