Electra Health

Stroke Rehab – Physiotherapy – Parkinson’s Disease

How Physiotherapy Can Help In The Management Of Stroke & Parkinson’s Disease

Electra Health physiotherapists offer 1 to 1 physiotherapy for Parkinson’s disease & stroke.*our physiotherapists focus on providing a one-to-one hands-on approach to each individual’s treatment.


Downtown Vancouver Parkinson’s & Stroke Physiotherapy
Electra Health – 970 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC
Open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm
604-685-4325 (HEAL)

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Physiotherapy as a treatment for stroke & Parkinson’s disease in Vancouver

The management of Parkinson’s disease or stroke is a multi-faceted affair that incorporates different disciplines in its approach. Medical and surgical therapies are often reinforced with other types of treatment such as speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, among others.

Physiotherapy is a health care discipline focused on maximizing the mobility, independence, quality of life and functional ability of patients. Parkinson’s disease presents a wide range of physical challenges to those living with it that persist despite being on medication or having undergone surgery. Through physiotherapy, activities can be tailored to an individual’s circumstance and ability that would aid in:

  • Maximizing the flexibility and rotation of joints to alleviate rigidity
  • Muscle-strengthening to ease the effects of muscle weakness
  • Enhancing facial expressions through the use of specialized facial exercises
  • Maintaining body balance

Through a combination of exercise, manipulation, manual therapy, and other physiotherapy interventions, individuals living with Parkinson’s disease can learn to make the most of their current mobility and maintain a level of independence. Apart from alleviating the physical symptoms presented by the disease, physiotherapy also serves to boost confidence through human interaction and physical empowerment.

So if you suffer from a stroke or Parkinson’s disease or you have a loved one who does, consider physiotherapy as a way of managing the condition. Better still, you do not have to worry about complications or side effects unlike in the case of medication.


Downtown Vancouver Stroke Rehab & Parkinson’s Physiotherapy

Electra Health – 970 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC
Open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm
604-685-4325 (HEAL)


What is a stroke?

Stroke is a condition that occurs when the flow of blood to the brain is obstructed or when a blood vessel raptures. The cells in that part of the brain are denied the necessary oxygen and nutrients required to function causing them to die. This may result in the paralysis of one side of the body, loss of speech ability, difficulties with memory and impaired vision.

Symptoms of stroke

Within moments of experiencing a stroke, the brain cells in the region affected begin to die and the following symptoms could become apparent:

physiotherapy stroke rehabilitation vancouver
  • Loss of body balance
  • Dizziness
  • Lack of coordination
  • Impaired speech
  • Numbness, muscle weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
  • Impaired vision (blurred or double vision)
  • Severe headache

The symptoms presented depend on the area of the brain affected and the larger the area affected, the more severe the symptoms are. However, a “silent stroke”, also known as a “small stroke”, may not present any apparent symptoms.

For more information regarding physiotherapy for stroke rehabilitation in Vancouver, please feel free to call us at 604-685-4325 8am to 8pm.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological brain disorder. This means that from the point of diagnosis, it progressively gets worse with time in people living with it. Parkinson’s disease is mainly characterized by difficulty with body movement, loss of muscle tone and abnormal body posture.

Nerve cells in the brain are responsible for controlling body movement by passing messages using neurotransmitters. In people with Parkinson’s disease, these messages are not transmitted properly to the muscles resulting in difficulty with body movement. This is as a result of the impairment or death of nerve cells that produce neurotransmitters such as dopamine. In effect, insufficient amounts of the neurotransmitters mean that messages responsible for body movement will not be transmitted, resulting in the symptoms that characterize Parkinson’s disease.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be categorized into two main groups namely, motor and non-motor symptoms. As the name suggests, motor symptoms are symptoms relating to movement.

Motor symptoms include:

  • Body tremors
  • Slowness of movement
  • Stiffness of limbs
  • The trouble with balance, inability to maintain normal posture or sudden unexplainable falling
  • Impaired reflexes
  • Loss of facial expression
  • Muffled speech
  • Drooling
  • Very small and cramped handwriting

Non-motor symptoms include:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Sleep disorders such as insomnia
  • Hallucinations
  • Frequent urination
  • Constipation
  • Apathy

For more information regarding physiotherapy for Parkinson’s disease in Vancouver, please feel free to call us at 604-685-4325 8am to 8pm.

How is a stroke linked to Parkinson’s disease?

When a stroke occurs, brain cells in the affected region die due to a lack of oxygen and nutrients as a result of interrupted blood flow. Nerve cells in the region of the brain responsible for controlling body movement could be affected by this. This would result in the insufficient production of neurotransmitters that are necessary for carrying messages to the body muscles to initiate and control movement. As a result, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease would present themselves. Studies have also shown that one of the long term effects of a mild stroke is the degeneration of the nerve cells in the part of the brain responsible for body movement.


Downtown Vancouver Stroke Rehab & Parkinson’s Physiotherapy
Electra Health – 970 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC
Open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm
604-685-4325 (HEAL)



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