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Stroke patients need more recovery time

COLUMBIA, Mo., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A U.S. scientist says the health system isn't giving stroke patients enough time to regain any lost function because it underestimates what the brain can do.

University of Missouri-Columbia Professor Guy McCormack says such patients need more time and motivation to reclaim lost functions, such as the use of an arm, hand or leg. With today's therapies, it is possible for patients to regain more function than once ever thought possible, McCormack said.

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"Patients are able to regain function due to the principle of neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to change, especially when patients continue therapy long after their injuries," McCormack said. "Therapists once believed the brain doesn't develop new neurons; but now they know neurons change their shape and create new branches to connect with other neurons, rewiring the brain following an injury or trauma."

He said the evidence suggests the nervous system can recover, but it needs time and encouragement -- two things McCormack says are hard to obtain. With U.S. healthcare reform being discussed, McCormack said he hopes legislators will investigate supporting long-term intervention therapy.

"It seems like the current system of rehabilitation isn't conducive to rehabilitation because we don't give patients enough time to rehabilitate," McCormack said. "We need to look at long-term therapies. In the end, they might prove to be more cost effective."

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He presented his views in a recent issue of OT Practice Magazine.

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