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Rehabilitation and recovery after stroke

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Opinion statement

  • Many poststroke complications are preventable.

  • There are few data comparing the efficacy of specific, standard physiotherapeutic approaches with each other or with the incidence of spontaneous recovery.

  • More intensive physiotherapeutic approaches may be of benefit, but the available data are inconclusive.

  • Innovative physiotherapeutic approaches, such as robot training and forced-use therapy, are promising but require further study.

  • Certain classes of drugs affecting central neurotransmitters (eg, a2-adrenergic receptor agonists, a1-adrenergic receptor antagonists, haloperidol, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and benzodiazepines) may interfere with recovery and should be avoided if possible until definitive data become available. Pharmacotherapy to improve poststroke recovery remains experimental.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3651, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Larry B. Goldstein MD

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  1. Larry B. Goldstein MD
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Goldstein, L.B. Rehabilitation and recovery after stroke. Curr Treat Options Neurol 2, 319–328 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-000-0049-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-000-0049-3

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