Many doctors think that the majority of healing occurs in the first three months after a stroke. Patients may encounter a mix of therapies, depending on their overall health, but the primary goal is to regain lost function and develop strategies to compensate for any shortcomings.
Common prescriptions include physical, speech and occupational therapies. Many of the skills that a stroke can affect, such as speaking and walking, can be relearned. New therapeutic methods also are emerging all of the time. Robotic therapy can help incapacitated patients regain the use of their limbs. Constraint-induced movement therapy also can force the patient on rehabilitating an injured limb by constraining the use of the functional limb.