OVERVIEW: There’s another important component to us as humans and that is our level of motivation and building habits for recovery...And I think that’s an important role that therapists play in the rehab phase for a person...and really talking with them about it, the survivor if they understand. If they’re struggling to understand it’s time to bring in the caregivers...where is this person going when they leave our level of care...and talking about the importance of establishing whatever this habit, routine is towards recovery and explaining clearly the benefits of getting in the groove now.

EPISODE SUMMARY: This second episode of NOGGINS & NEURONS: Stroke and TBI Recovery Simplified, emerged as Pete and Deb realized additional clarifications were warranted. Not surprisingly, more insights come about as the conversation unfolded! In this episode we:

Share Pete’s clarification’s which take us on a deeper dive into differences between diseases affecting the brain & acquired brain injury; differences between hemorrhagic & ischemic strokes.

• Learn of Pete’s discovery that not all published research is necessarily the most recent!

Join us as we continue to unpack stroke, brain injury and learned non-use. Pete reminds us there is a difference between acquired brain injuries and other diagnoses such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. He dives into further detail about hemorrhagic strokes and the ways they differ from ischemic strokes, referring to a well-known survivor, Jill Bolte-Taylor’s experience. Deb’s brain went into overdrive a couple times, bringing the conversation a bit deeper into real life recovery and the importance of building good recovery habits at the subacute stage, including how practitioners are uniquely positioned to help move survivors and caregivers in that direction. Pete also discovered that other researchers attempted to stage recovery phases after he did, bringing to light that researchers can miss really important information (Pete’s did the work first, in this case!). Perhaps this is a reminder to always do our best to be thorough while also realizing that with the vastness of the world, not all work is original or copied. Even though no 2 brains are alike multiple people can think similarly!

We also answered our first listener question from Ingrid Kanics, OTR/L, FAOTA, President of  ­­­­­Kanics Inclusive Design Services. Ingrid asked for more information about what goes on inside the brain regarding dendritic pruning, the penumbra and neuroplasticity. Thanks for asking, Ingrid!

Please share your top takeaways!

LINKS TO ARTICLES, BOOKS AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. Bernhardt J, Hayward KS, Kwakkel G, Ward NS, Wolf SL, Borschmann K, Krakauer JW, Boyd LA, Carmichael ST, Corbett D, Cramer SC. Agreed definitions and a shared vision for new standards in stroke recovery research: The Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable taskforce. Int J Stroke. 2017 Jul;12(5):444-450. doi: 10.1177/1747493017711816. PMID: 28697708.

1. My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor

• Book 

YouTube Ted Talk

1. Stronger After Stroke: Your Roadmap to Recovery 3rd Edition by Peter G. Levine

• Podcast references: page 87 Learned Nonuse diagram, page 88 Reversing Learned Nonuse diagram

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RESOURCES:

• Information about Pete’s blog and book, “Stronger After Stroke: Your Roadmap to Recovery” 3rd edition:

• Blog: blogspot.com

• Deb's OT resources

REQUEST TO BE A GUEST ON NOGGINS & NEURONS. If you’re passionate about stroke recovery and have information or a story you believe will help others, we’d love help you share it on the show. Complete the guest request form below and let’s see if we’re a good fit!   Guest Request Form

MUSIC

“Soft Inspiration” by Scott Holmes/Scott Holmes Music/scottholmesmusic.com

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