My physio and nurses stop coming a week on Wednesday and as I am my fingers and hand don’t work, my foot turns sideways and my toes curl under.
I have the botox injections but my physio focused on me going out walking instead of any bending and stretching during March so I feel like I have lost a month of that because of him.
I walk with a quad stick and a foot splint in my trainers and can walk so far.
Physio is going to pass me to the community support team whatever that is, he said there is a physio in the team but I’m not so sure.
I do my leg strengthening exercises and others but I just feel I won’t get any further.
I have found some videos on YouTube about stroke recovery but they seem to be for Americans by Americans.
I don’t have any stroke group near me so am stuck.
Any advice will be appreciated.
Hi @nerrad67
Easter weekend means there is not the same coverage as is usual on the Forum. This is how things usually are during holiday periods.
Once Easter Monday is done things will be back to normal.
You might like to take a look at the page I have linked for you below. There is information there provided by the Stroke Association that will likely be of use to you.
https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/support/online-activities
When you have had a look at that page please come back and ask any further questions you might have,.
This space is for you to use. You will meet others in the same situation as yourself as well as Stroke Association staff. It is a relaxed and friendly area. Others will listen, share experiences and join with you.
Some have just arrived on the stroke scene and others have been around for some time. We are all finding our way forward, our journeys are similar but we each have our own path to tread.
I feel that we can be of use to one another as we share what we have found, the ups and downs and what we have encountered in that very different world in which we now find ourselves.
keep on keepin’ on
so you know - I had a stroke about three years ago - it continues to affect my life
Hi.
There is a lot of help out there, but sometimes it takes a bit of searching. A lot also depends on the depth of your pockets. I don’t have any help locally re classes etc, so I pay for a neuro-physio to come to me once a fortnight (look up arni.uk.com). Yes, a lot of the stuff on YouTube is American, but it is also useful. Rehab HQ (Tara Tobias) has some very useful exercises.
I don’t find splints very useful (I have a wholecupboard-full of discarded ones as proof), but I do have curled toes and relieve this with toe crests
Hi thanks for the advice I am unable to uncurl my toes to put them on
My YouTube channel is about solutions and therapies that work for me
https://www.youtube.com/@Start-Again-xyz
Hopefully there might be something there to help you
Good luck, Sir
Roland
Hi @nerrad67
I Just wanted to add to what @Bobbi mentioned about Online Activities. If you’d like more information on each session you can find it here or you’re more than welcome to email the team online.activities@stroke.org.uk.
You might also find these series of Stroke Association exercise videos helpful too. Click here for more information.
I can see the community are offering their valuable support and recommendations, but please do reach out If you have any questions on the above by tagging the Community Coordinator @Anna_moderator into your post, or you can contact us directly through the service desk.
Best wishes
Nicola
@nerrad67 as you have found out the physios etc do seem to dry up after a period of time. It does sound like you will continue to receive some support from the Community Support Team though.
But, one thing I found is that we seem to make the moat progress when we are left to get on with it as you can focus on the areas that matter most to you. A lot depends on your current level.of ability but there is a wealth of information on YouTube. Some of it may be American but the outcome is the same.
Flint Rehab is someone I used ecercises from. I picked the ones that suited me. I also worked through the Stroke Association ones that Nicola has copied the link for above. Different Strokes also have rehab reset videos on YouTube. Hopefully this link will work.
My foot turns inwards and I haven’t yet managed to get it to stay forwards without a splint. My splint does keep it forward but I don’t find it useful otherwise.
Best wishes
Ann
Hi. Just to say I had excellent help from our Community stroke team but of course it depends on where you live etc etc. the community team from our hospital came for 8 months. Once they stopped I found a neuro physio and paid him privately. It wasn’t cheap but well worth it.
By the way my foot turns over onto its side when walking but the hospital fitted me with an orthotic brace which now stops it when I wear it which is most of the time! Good luck to you and please let us know how you get on
I’d like to add a little something to all the excellent input above.
It might be worth getting in touch with your G.P. telling your story and asking if it might be possible to have another course of physiotherapy as you feel you could make further advances in terms of recovery.
Your G.P. is in a position to make recommendations.
In the mean time it is good to realise that making efforts for yourself is a very good path to take.
keep on keepin’ on
Thanks for the advice love.
I just feel like my physio waisted a month by not doing stretching in March.
I’ve had botox injections for my arm and wrist.
My arm isn’t doing too bad compared to my hand which opens at various times of the day just not when someone comes to stretch it.
I am practicing walking without holding on to anything and I can take a few steps.
The thing that works the best is my balance I can touch the floor and pick my quad stick up without falling.
I have found a guy with a video to help with side twisting foot I will send you a screenshot.
Hope you progress well.
John
Hi my physio has told me that my foot splint will stop my foot turning eventually.
Hope it does.
Click here to watch.
He is a occupational therapist and I can’t find any other.
I check videos to see if they will help.
Any that won’t i remove from my watch list on YouTube hope it helps
I have just ordered the toe crests.
Do they actually help to stop toes curling?
I got a foot splint from the hospital but it rubs alot .
Your toes will not curl as much, but more importantly, the toe crests will help to stop you walking on curled toes (well it did for me and that was really painful before). Toe/foot exercises help too, as does stretching the toes. That’s what I don’t like about rigid splints. They don’t allow the foot to move normally when you walk, although I understand they may be necessary for some people in order to get around.
Thanks for the advice what sort of exercises are for toe’s and foot that I can do on my own?
I was given a foot splint to stop my foot turning sideways
Take care John
You could try an inward slopping insole for your shoes/slippers as I did.
Yes, I still have a touch of foot drop but the foot rolling outwards has definitely been resolved. I was over 2yrs post strong when I first had the idea that I needed a sole that would turn my foot inward so I didn’t end up breaking my ankle or worse in a fall. But I fixed it myself! I got enough pairs to fit one is each shoe/slipper, the left one left soles I could turn upside down, so none were wasted.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comfort-Cushioning-Orthopedic-Correction-Alignment/dp/B08ZJ2CPDV
I got just the heel slopped ones initially and the were useless as the didn’t stop the lower half of my foot from rolling. So then I just got one pair of the above to begin with and just tested it out around the house initially. There was definitely a marked improvement in stability from day one. So I got a few more pairs and put one in all my footwear. My foot did ache in particular after long walks but that was a small price to pay for stopping my foot from rolling over and the aches eventually stopped the more I did 
They didn’t cure my foot drop but it is certainly more manageable without it wanting to turn over. I use them all may footwear for about 8mths, now I only have one in my gym trainers and my foot doesn’t roll.
Bear in mind, if you do get any, you will most likely have to removed any thick insole your footwear already has, but don’t throw them away 
If you go down this route, be careful which insoles you get because many only slope at the heel. I wanted them to tip all they along the outer side of the foot from heel to toe, sloping inward. The ones in the pic above I got on Amazon for about £12 at the time but it looks like they’ve gone a bit. But see how its thick all down the outside but thin down the inside; that’s what you are looking for.
Lorraine
I have to wear a foot splint.
Will they fit in there Lorraine?
Well done for fixing it yourself Lorraine.
I think it is so sad that the PT or OT (physios or occupational therapists or even the stroke consultant) could not have pointed this out to you. From what I can tell, there are quite a few stroke survivors who suffer from this condition. Surely, this should be a recognised condition and advice offered as standard rather than you being left to your own devices and having to reinvent the wheel.
Maybe there is an opportunity here for you Lorraine, to open up a consultancy offering help to stroke survivors for things that the healthcare professionals do not seem to be aware of or wulling to share?
I honestly wouldn’t know if they’d fit with a splint. They are just like any other insole you’d put inside a shoe and you have to trim them down to size. The option of a splint was never suggested even though the physio was well aware of my issues with foot drop and rolling.
Originally, when I first had the thought, I was considering ways to some form of insole. I even considered discussing a solution with our local cobblers, but then I found what I needed on Amazon.
So how do you actually wear this splint? Is it over your footwear or does it have to go into your shoes?
My suggestion would be to try one out without the splint whilst you are at home of an evening, wear it for a couple of hours. But only if you can manage some walking without the splint. Is that just to hold your foot up?
Lorraine