Sensory Reeducation: Regain Sensation after Stroke

Stroke patients often complain of numbness in their limbs after the attack. These sensory issues are common and leave patients confused. It may impair their day-to-day life, but fortunately, these can be helped.

If you are experiencing issues like tingling and numbness, then read on to get potential solutions.

What Are the Reasons For Sensory Changes?

A stroke can leave the part of your brain responsible for interpreting the senses damaged. It leads to the development of unwanted sensory issues, usually by damage to the parietal/occipital or right side of the brain.

The symptoms are baffling but do not feel disturbed by them. You can get better – do not lose hope.

“Sensory reeducation” is a program that uses sensory stimulation to recover functional senses and learn adaptive functioning.

Sensory Reeducation is extremely useful in regaining senses. Just like in stroke rehabilitation, sensory reeducation can be gained with neuroplasticity and repetitive practices.

You must repeat these exercises a minimum of 10 times for any effects to become apparent. Practice these 10-15 minutes a day.

Home Sensory Reeducation Exercises

1. Tabletop Touch Therapy

Take objects of different textures and place them on a table lying in front of you. Do not look at them. Pick them up and feel. Try to differentiate the surfaces.

You can have objects such as rough sandpaper, scarves, rough Velcro, fluffy cotton balls and cool silverware.

2. Texture Handling

Ask someone (family member or caregiver) to place different objects on your hand. Keep your eyes open. Try to sense the objects. After going through the objects and observing their feel, perform the exercise again with the eyes closed. Focus on feeling every object and let your mind make that connection. Note how these objects feel with the eyes open and then the eyes shut.

3. Texture Hunting

Take a bowl full of uncooked rice. Bury objects of different textures in it such as coins, marbles, Velcro strips, cotton balls, etc. Find these objects in the bowl without looking.

4. Difference in Temperature

This exercise helps stroke survivors feel hot and cold once again. Take two pieces of cloth. Soak one piece of cloth in cold water and another in very warm water. Ask someone place the cold cloth on one arm. Try to feel it.

After half a minute, ask the person to swap the cold cloth with the very warm cloth. Feel the difference between the two. Now close your eyes. Ask the person to keep one piece of cloth on your arm and see what you feel – warm or cold. Repeat the exercise. Switch from warm to cold.

Though assistance is important, people who suffer a stroke in just one part of their body can do it themselves. They can use the unaffected side.

5. Sensory Locating

Close your eyes. Ask the caregiver to place her/his hand on your arm. Point to the area you think you are touched. When you don’t pinpoint to the right area, your caregiver should move your hand. Open the eyes to see and absorb the information. Such feedback assists in re-training the brain. Repeat the exercise 10 times. Once you become a master at it, swap this with textured objects. Ask the home caregiver to do this for you.

Final Words

The whole purpose of feeling again seems a little awkward. This article aims to encourage and teach you. In most of these exercises, a stroke patient requires assistance. Consider hiring a professional caregiver. It will make everyone’s life easier.