OVERVIEW:

Tracy: My understanding is that not a lot of people understand post-stroke fatigue. Are we mislabeling it? Are we saying it’s more of a cognitive problem? Are we saying it’s more of a muscle strength problem? I’m just wondering if we’re mislabeling it…especially when we’re talking about it down the road. I’m really hung up on these individuals who are functioning well…so these are the individuals who no longer qualify for home care services, and have really graduated beyond outpatient, but they’re still not able to get back to their role as an employee…back to those desired occupations they want to get to…because of the post-stroke fatigue.

EPISODE SUMMARY: In this episode of NOGGINS & NEURONS: Brain Injury Recovery Simplified: Post-Stroke Fatigue, with occupational therapist and educator Tracy Bentley-Root, and occupational therapy students Alyssa Brockmann and Sarah Battaglia, we talked about:

• Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) - General symptoms, occupational impacts, timeline, recovery process, and intervention ideas for post-stroke fatigue. Alyssa and Sarah share their experiences with post-stroke fatigue through different lenses. Alyssa explains her fieldwork from an acute care standpoint, whereas Sarah shares her experience with the population through an outpatient or chronic lens. Alyssa discovered that she witnessed post-stroke fatigue on more of a cognitive level in the early stages of stroke recovery. Post-stroke fatigue in the chronic stages after stroke (3-6 months or longer) has a different effect on the individual.

Stroke manifests in various ways that are individualized to each patient and caregiver. It is important to note that stroke recovery is an adjustable and continually changing journey where each day will present differently. A decrease in performance does not mean patient regression, rather an occupational performance area strengthened, leaving another area open for improvement. Being aware of one’s symptoms, including fatigue, as well as understanding why fatigue manifests post-stroke is important to then advocate on behalf of yourself to health care practitioners for adequate resources and sports needed to move forward in one’s re-establishment of routine, identity and occupational performance.

As always, we want to hear your top takeaways!

LINKS TO ARTICLES, BOOKS AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Factors associated with post-stroke depression and fatigue: lesion location and coping styles

Managing post-stroke fatigue: A qualitative study to explore multifaceted clinical perspectives

Occupational Therapy - Energy Conservation Booklet Patient Information Leaflet

Post-stroke fatigue: a deficit in corticomotor excitability?

Post-stroke fatigue: a review on prevalence, correlates, measurement, and management

Poststroke Fatigue | Stroke

Review article Lack of content overlap and essential dimensions – A review of measures used for post-stroke fatigue

Social Support as a Predictor of Community Participation After Stroke

As always, we want to hear your top takeaways!

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