Lifestyle Mental Health

Keeping the Mind Sharp With Neuro Rehab at Home

A woman doing a crossword with her grandchildren.
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With the help of neurological rehabilitation, patients with diseases, injury or disorders of the nervous system often see improved function and reduced symptoms. At AdventHealth Sports Med and Rehab, we have a team of experts ready to help heal, strengthen and renew patients both in person and online.

Who Benefits From Neuro Rehab?

A person with a type of disorder that impairs the nervous system would benefit from neuro rehab. This could include those with:

  • Degenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Alzheimer’s disease

  • Functional disorders, such as seizure or neuralgia

  • Trauma, including spine and brain injuries

  • Vascular disorders, such as stroke

At AdventHealth Sports Med and Rehab, different types of services are available to help these patients, including, but not limited to:

  • Occupational therapy

  • Physical therapy

  • Speech therapy

Therapy at Home

We know life happens and sometimes it can be difficult to make it to in-person appointments with your therapist, but it is so important to keep doing exercises at home to strengthen your mind and body. At AdventHealth Sports Med and Rehab, we are also now offering video visits for personalized evaluation and home exercise support. Your team of physical, occupational and speech therapy experts can help you become stronger, healthier and happier in the comfort of your home.

Jennifer Campbell, Speech Therapist, and Laura Patrick, Clinical Specialist of Neurologic Physical Therapy, share their recommendations for at-home therapy.

Cognitive Therapy

“The best thing you can for your brain is give it a variety of exercise,” says Jennifer, “So a word search can be good for your brain, but if you do the same thing every day to stimulate your mind, you’re not really getting much true benefit because you’re only using one function of the brain.” Learning a new hobby, skill or language and having a variety of social interactions could all be excellent stimulation for the brain.

Both Jennifer and Laura recommend 30 minutes to one hour of mental exercise every day.

For those who are tech savvy, there are applications available on your smart device that can be utilized for daily brain exercise, such as:

For those who prefer a more traditional method, it’s recommended to do a variety of:

  • Book reading

  • Crossword puzzles

  • Household tasks that require planning and multitasking, such as cooking

  • Sudoku

It is also recommended to learn a new hobby, instrument or language. Learning something new is great exercise for the brain.

Breathing exercises

If you’re physically able, deep stretching while deep breathing can be very helpful. If the stretching isn’t possible, taking time to focus on breathing alone can help decrease stress, focus the mind and improve energy levels.

Jennifer recommends diaphragmatic breathing by laying down with your hands on your belly. Take a deep breath in through your nose and watch your stomach rise to fill your belly with air, then exhale watching your belly go back down. “Breathing supports everything that we do, and this exercise can help to manage stress and anxiety and even emotions,” Jennifer says.

Aerobic exercise

During exercise, your heart is pumping faster, giving more oxygen to your brain and improving overall brain health. Exercising the mind can be incorporated into daily physical exercise by completing dual-tasking activities. Dual tasking means to do two different tasks at the same time — in this case, thinking and walking. Dual tasking challenges the mind and can include tasks like walking and talking, doing mental math calculations, naming words starting with a target letter, or even reciting the names of grandchildren in alphabetical order.

Learn More About Neurological Rehab

The AdventHealth Sports Med and Rehab team is here for you, whether you’re at home or with us in person. If you would like to schedule an in-person appointment or video visit, call Call407-303-8080. For more information, you can also visit AHSportsMedCentralFL.com.

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