When is it ‘safe’?

Getting active after stroke
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My community stroke nurses haven’t exactly been clear on giving an answer so…

When is it safe to resume gym activity? Approx 2 weeks after my stroke I started back just lightly cycling (static) for 15mins or so, and 15mins of light weight training as I read exercise is good.

However I have a fear of really pushing myself and was wondering if anyone’s had similar experiences or am I overthinking this? The damage is done right, so surely I’d not be at an elevated risk to go back training?

My stroke happened while my heart rate was very elevated, same with my (young) manager just before me.

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@matt_d13

We cannot say - we don’t know your situation.

Some factors that may inform though are “was your stroke hemoragic[1] or ischemic [2]?” The former has more bearing than the latter.

Other factors will be what are you planning to do?

Another consideration is how fatigue affects you. This one you’ll be able to moderate by observing the after affects.

In general if you haven’t got wounds that need to heal and you test your comfortable limits cautiously then the more aerobic exercise the better for everything, the more physical exercise the better for muscle, stamina, tendons etc, the more variety in exercise the better for neuroplasticity

These are words unreliable & or NOT advise

Caio
Simon

  1. a bleed caused by a bust blood vessel ↩︎

  2. a clot ↩︎

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@matt_d13 it is not possible to advise on this as it will be different for everyone.

I would say build it up slowly. Try something see how you go for a while. If all ok then try a bit more but you are the only one that will really know when is the right time to increase your gym activity.

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Thanks both. Understand it’s not an easy answer.

It was ischemic. So probably a bit safer to go back to the gym than had it been a bleed.

It’s been 6ish weeks of going every other day, lightly. I think the only thing holding me back is ‘fear of the unknown’ lol.

I guess I’ll err more on the side of caution for now, at least until I get my consultant follow up review (6-8 weeks she said… 9 and a bit weeks ago)

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My instincts say you’ve got the right idea, here, Matt. Aim for a little maintenance, and as you progress in time, confidence and stability then start stepping it up… very gradually. After all, what’s the point in rushing?

good luck, Roland

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I got out as soon as possible ,short walks slowly increasing the distance. Bit of hand sawing logs and pottering about, but always a rest afterwards. Managing fatigue was a big issue in early stages. Would take me by surprise. Never did gym but encouraged to do reformer Pilates which suits me fine. Four years on it’s just the lack of motivation some days. Take everything gently and regular rests.

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