How Long Will Stroke or Brain Injury Recovery Take?

How long will stroke or brain injury recovery take? Many of our clients tell us that they were told to expect all recovery to happen in the first three months, six months, or a year after their injury or event. Or stated differently, if you haven't gotten it back in a year, you won't get it back. 

This is not only discouraging, it is untrue.  It is true that big changes happen early on, close to the event. When a person first has a stroke or a brain injury, function is often very limited. A person may be bed bound, they may not be able to eat, sit up, or walk. Over time with recovery and therapy, function starts to return. Often, every day is a milestone of accomplishing something new or refining ability with a function.

When you start from a position of having so little function, it can seem that recovery is progressing quickly. Once a person leaves the hospital and goes home, they start to develop strategies for success in their home environment. Sometimes these strategies build on what was learned in rehab, but sometimes they become more compensatory in nature. Individuals learn to function with the movement they have available, and the emphasis on restoration of movement may change to getting things done faster or more independently.

This does not have to be the end of the recovery journey. Slowing down and being very deliberate and consistent with incorporating your affected areas will result in improved function and recovery. The milestones may be further apart and the changes may be smaller over time, but the science of neuroplasticity proves that as long as you keep working toward your goals, your brain will always have the potential to change, improve, and recover.