Stroke
Questions families ask
Frequently asked questions
Will my relative walk again?
No one can answer that reliably from a message. Trunk control in the first weeks, the severity of the deficit on the NIH Stroke Scale and the time since the stroke are the strongest available predictors, and a rehabilitation physician can give a realistic assessment once they have the records and imaging. We will tell you if we think an intensive programme will not help.
Is it too late if the stroke was two years ago?
No. Improvement in strength, balance, walking distance and independence is achievable years after a stroke. What changes is the goal: later programmes work on function and independence rather than on restoring the original movement pattern, and they still produce measurable change.
Can they travel in a wheelchair?
Almost always. Most of our international patients arrive using a wheelchair and some arrive on a stretcher with a medical escort. What matters is fitness to fly, which the treating doctor confirms. We arrange airport meeting, wheelchair-accessible transfer and ambulance transport where required.
Do you guarantee a result?
No, and nobody honest does. What we give you is the measurement: the instrument we use, the score at admission, the score at discharge, and the number of patients the comparison is based on. You decide with that in front of you.
Sources
- Stroke and transient ischaemic attack in over 16s: diagnosis and initial management (NG128) — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022)
- Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al. Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association — Stroke (2016)
- Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al. 2021 Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack — Stroke (2021)
- National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland — Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party (2023)
- Stroke Recovery Is a Journey: Prediction and Potentials of Motor Recovery after a Stroke from a Practical Perspective — Life (Basel) (2023)
- Time is brain--quantified. — Stroke (2006)
- Predictors of stroke outcome using objective measurement scales. — Stroke (1990)
- Observation of amounts of movement practice provided during stroke rehabilitation. — Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2009)
- Translating animal doses of task-specific training to people with chronic stroke in 1-hour therapy sessions: a proof-of-concept study. — Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair (2010)
