Effective Guidelines For 7 Stages Of Stroke Recovery
Understanding the Brunnstrom stages of stroke recovery will allow you to identify where you are in your stroke recovery timeline and foresee what obstacles you’ll face (and overcome!) on the road to recovery.
Now let’s move on to the Brunnstrom stages of stroke recovery.
Stage 1: Flaccidity
Flaccidity is a condition characterized by muscles weakness or paralysis. In the beginning of your motor recovery, you will start off with a certain degree of flaccidity in your affected muscles caused by the stroke or other neurological injury. At this point, active movement of the affected muscles isn’t possible.
Stage 2: Spasticity Is Present
Then, a small amount of movement seeps in. During the second stage of motor recoveryafter stroke, a small amount of movement is recovered, usually as passive movement or response from stimuli (like TENS therapy). No voluntary movement is present.
Stage 3: Spasticity Increases
During the next stage of stroke recovery, movement continues to increase (while spasticity comes to a peak) and difficult, voluntary movements start to emerge. At this point, you’ve been diligently performing your rehab exercises and your brain is effectively relearning how to communicate with your muscles.
Stage 4: Spasticity Decreases
We’re halfway through the stages and things are starting to look promising. At stage 4, muscle control increases and movement starts to become easier. Some abnormal movement still occurs, but spasticity has significantly decreased.
Stage 5: Spasticity Wanes
Now you start to really see the fruits of your labor materialize. As spasticity continues to decrease and muscle control increases, complex voluntary movements start to emerge.
Stage 6: Coordination Reappears
Then, spasticity disappears completely and coordination rapidly improves. Complex coordinated moves are almost fully restored and a full recovery is within sight.
Stage 7: Normal Function Returns
This is when you start doing your happy dance. You’ve been consistently performing your rehab exercises and now complex movement patterns are fully restored. You can move again with normal timing, coordination, strength, and endurance.
If you want to reach the final stage, we encourage you to read about 3 keys to motor recovery and how to achieve a full recovery after stroke.
