Do Strokes Cause Arm Pain? (Part 1)

Today, we're answering the question “Do strokes cause arm pain”? And this is gonna be part of a 3 part series discussing spasticity, hemiplegia, and sensation changes. So today, I'm gonna be talking about the sensory system, and how a stroke can affect that.

So, a lot of people after they have a stroke will say that they're having pain because they're feeling pins in needles or tingling or numbness, and this is all part of how sensation has changed, through that limb that's been affected. And some of the best things you can do to address that are starting what some people call a sensory diet. So this is exposing that part of the body that's been affected to a lot of different sensations. So that can be sandpaper, tissues, you know, soft, rough, watching how that sensation feels when you're seeing the texture on your skin. And then you can do it to an unaffected part of the body too and really think about how it feels different and add that mindfulness component of, you know, this feels soft, this feels itchy, this feels rough.

Do it on an unaffected side and an affected side. And the more you expose yourself to different textures and temperatures, the more that sensation will hopefully get more closer to normal.