has just joined the Isleworth centre, and she also lives just down the road. We have a feeling that she is going to do really well if she does the training outside as well. Go Katie!
Katie MacQueen
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- November 16, 2015
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Task-specific practice must not only tackle recovery milestones, such as grasping, releasing and so on, but minimise behaviours that can be introduced after stroke. It’s essentially quite simple: it’s doing the task you want to do. A lot. And making all efforts to improve. So, if you have significant spasticity in your upper limb, to retrain the ability to open a glasses case to get your specs, you practise opening up your glasses case. If you want to lift a cup and drink from it, you need to get a cup and practice lifting and drinking from it as accurately as possible, thousands of times. And attempt to improve progressively and consistently.
Call us to find out if there's an ARNI trainer who can help you on 0203 053 0111 or email support@arni.uk.com
#strokerecovery #strokerecoveryexercises #neuroplasticity #strokesurvivorscan #strokerehabilitation #neurorehab #strokeexercise #strokerehab #neurorehabilitation
Neuroplasticity is best activated through repetition. Meaning, when a skill is highly practiced, neuroplasticity strengthens the neural pathways for that skill. This is how you can work towards recovery during life after stroke. The more a skill is practiced, the higher the chances of strengthening neural connections for that skill and restoring function.
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#neurorehabilitation #strokesurvivorscan #neurorehab #neuroplasticity #strokesurvivors #arnistrokecharity #strokeexercise
This is a sobering and critical update for stroke care in the UK as we start 2026: senior medical leaders, (including long-time friend of Dr Tom Balchin and ARNI, Professor David Werring), who is the past president of the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians (BIASP), have issued a stark warning that thousands of stroke survivors are facing avoidable death or severe, lifelong disability due to a critical shortage of specialists within the NHS.
The message is clear: the system is really struggling to provide the 'right expert at the right time' - meaning many patients are missing out on the immediate, high-stakes evaluations and treatments like thrombectomy or thrombolysis that are essential for saving brain tissue in those first few golden hours. 🧠⏳
The crisis stems from a lack of consultants and specialised nursing staff, which creates a bottleneck in emergency response and diagnostic accuracy. 📉💔 Professor Werring highlighted to the Guardian today that of course this isn't just about statistics; these are real people who could be walking and talking today if the correct specialist pathways were adequately staffed and accessible 24/7 across every region. Dr Tom notes that this disgraceful postcode lottery of care means that your chances of a full recovery currently depend far too heavily on which hospital you are taken to and which experts are on shift when you arrive. 🚑📍
This warning serves as a massive call to action for this government to prioritise the recruitment and retention of stroke specialists and not waste so much money on OTHER THINGS WHICH ARE LESS A CONCERN TO THE LONG-TERM BRITISH TAXPAYER - to prevent further unnecessary tragedy. 🤝📣
While technology like AI imaging and mobile stroke units are helping, they cannot replace the clinical judgment of a seasoned stroke physician. We must have a system where every patient receives the gold-standard care they deserve, ensuring that the journey after a stroke is defined by recovery and hope, rather than av#strokecrisis #NHSStaffingi#strokeawareness2026k#HealthEquality##saveourbrains #SaveOurBrains
A&E doctors at rake lane. North Tyneside. Misdiagnosed a ct scan. Missed the bleed on the scan. No mri scan until the patient asked for one. No pathway followed. Doctors treated symptoms as a migraine. Oxygen paracetamol. Patient was not sedated to fully scan brain as patient could not tolerate MRI. Several pictures were taken which proved a pca stroke. No thrombosis or mechanical. Retrievement, balloon stent. Just a set of doctors who didn’t have a clue. Then the patient went on to have a right frontal brain haemorrhage.
I am a advertisement for this. Doctors need to follow pathways. The incorrect diagnosis murders patients or disables them for life
Second stroke, whilst entering A&E I said give me 300 mg Aspirin. It saved me last time. I was told I had a migraine. 3 days later a stroke nurse saw me on a normal ward and then they jumped into action. Too late. Damage done.😔
My son (one of many unemployed doctors in the UK) is willing to be trained as a specialist.
💯 % agree ❤️
Yep I was sent away from a&e told it was a migraine!!! Due to location of stroke it would only show on mri and also presents as BEFAST not FAST which many medical teams dismiss!!
I was misdiagnosed with MS and put on the wrong ward where I had a second stroke. This was despite a brain scan. Now part disabled.
I agree. We used to see the adverts for Stroke on TV - act FAST! we rang 999 immediately and it took nearly 3 hours to get to a hospital 20 miles away. 3 weeks in hospital with no physio, sent to nearby Stroke Rehab unit where we were told my husband would get intensive physio etc. staff shortages meant there was no physio for nearly 3 months and the gym was closed. Such opportunities were missed and we are still upset about this over a year later.
From NICEimpact stroke: The UK performs mechanical thrombectomies (MT) at lower rates than many other high-income developed countries, estimated at around 1–2 per 100,000 population annually based on recent audit data.
Tracy Snelling
If that is the case i.e. re thrombectomy , why have i survived with limited cognative issues and no physical issues , while having the clot insitu for 16+ hours as up in the air on a long haul flight from Dubai to Melbourne. ?!?! NB ,I was only the 5th person the said expert had done the operation on ...... following the trial of said clot retreval / thrombectomy operation . ?!?!. All of this happened in Australia 14 years ago . !!! How bloody lucky am i ? Cos i'd of been dead in the UK ! I was told by them !!!
I was left sitting in A+E for 6 hours while my stroke symptoms got worse. Husband took me as 8 hour wait for ambulance. Was seen to late for thrombosis treatment Aftercare shocking. Disabled at 52. Gone is a life i loved to one in can't wait to be over
Simply not good enough..... Ambulance wasted 10-15mins in my home - that could have meant less disability for me. They were also using FAST....they also were considering calling another ambulance because they felt they couldn't wheel me out down a path. I'm so glad my husband was there advocating and backing me up because I knew it was serious and *I* said stroke first. Without my husband I'd be dead. I complained to SAS to be told their "call duration" was within "acceptable" and "normal" time scale..... This is terrifying even more so reading this article. What is it? Is stroke not sexy enough a field to specialise in? Is it too difficult to learn? Everything about stroke needs overhauled. Everyone keeps using FAST when without examining the other symptoms and determining them as yes it is vertigo or no it is a stroke means they'll never hone that accuracy of diagnosis. I'm not saying BEFAST is the complete answer however I ALWAYS share the so called non common symptoms. Ultimately if stroke diagnosis and care comes down to AI - maybe we will have a better chance than with human involvement. Sorry for a rant but I'm very angry at this. NHS need to spend smarter - chucking money at something broken doesn't work. My life was saved because I advocated while I could and didn't sit back (I couldn't lol!!!) and accept it was a panic attack but many others would. My husband's intervention by helping to get me out of the house and into the ambulance and the consultant on duty.
So true I was in a&e with all the poster symptoms of a stroke did a ct which showed no bleed on the brain with in 2 hours but it took 17 hours for them to decide we need to do differnt types of scan to find out I had a ischemic stroke meaning I could have had the clot buster and potentially less disabled than I am now had they looked earlier their apology was sorry as your 32 we decided it was unlikely so didn’t scan sooner I’m sorry but this isn’t good enough nhs is understaffed and under specialised for instance my report says I walked in to a&e nope I was stretchered in by an ambulance completely paralysed on one side unable to do any thing at all
I had to take myself to a&e.two hr wait for ambulance .Went in a 6.30 pm Saturday.Had CT at 10.30pm.Told I hadn’t had a stroke.Has F.A.S.T symptoms. Finally got a bed at 5.30p on the Sunday. 😡😡😡
Here here , I am on my own had a stroke & it was like talking to myself . After 4 weeks in rehab which involved sitting in a chair all day , except when I walked up & down the corridor ( not every day ). I was taken to a kitchen to make sure I could get something to eat. Climbed up & down stairs I was sent home . Alone , no one to make sure I was ok. etc . Everything I have done myself , go to a multi gym 3 times a week , zoom yoga once a week , trike ride once a week weather permitting, stroke club once a week !!! I wasn’t given any contacts , places to go or anything !!!! It is a postcode lottery !!!!
Stroke and bleed missed by local hospital as I was too young to have a stroke. Was labelled as mentally ill and refused care, after care and rehab. Neurological care in this country is terrible.
The thrombectomys can only be done in the counties major a@ e departments as they need the correct machinery available per 24 hrs and the correct level of expertise / human to be able to do the proceedure + i.e. training !! An ordinary a@ e dept. Could / should NOT be expected to do this !!!! That was why small a@ e's were shut down years back to lessen the pressures on small units . !!! The NHS can not afford ( the money is not there) to have this high level of care , its the same as some cancers can be saved and others cant. !!!!?
Strokeaudit.com: "For the average UK person experiencing an eligible large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke—about 10–15% of all strokes—access to mechanical thrombectomy (MT) stands at roughly 3% nationally, meaning only 1 in 33 eligible patients receives it."
Werring is a twat a complete wanker
Thought of the day........
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#strokesurvivorscan #NeuroRehab #strokeexercise #strokerecovery #strokerehabilitation #neuroplasticity #ARNIstrokerehab #strokesurvivors
Recovering upper limb function after a stroke is often described by survivors as one of the most frustrating and intricate parts of the rehabilitation journey 🧠📉. It is incredibly difficult to coordinate the precise motor control needed to get the wrist, hand, fingers, and thumb into the perfect position to reach, grasp, and eventually release objects during Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) ☕️🖐. For many, the arm can feel heavy and/or stuck in a flexed position, making simple tasks like picking up a glass or using a fork feel like an uphill battle that requires immense mental and physical effort 😰🦾.
However, there is a powerful way to break through these barriers using the ARNI Approach, pioneered by Dr. Tom Balchin (pictured), assisting a survivor to 'get the gap', as he calls it, using a special technique he created and which is taught by all ARNI Instructors (get yours today by calling ARNI Stroke Rehab UK) and is rooted in the latest neuroscientific research 📚✨. This method focuses on aggressive, evidence-based principles that combine intensive stretching to manage presentations involving combinations of spasticity and flaccidity with high-repetition, task-specific practice 🏃♂️⚡️.
By breaking down complex movements into manageable 'chunks' and forcing the brain to find new neural pathways through neuroplasticity, survivors can begin to see real functional changes that traditional, mostly-passive, lower-intensity therapy completely misses. What makes the ARNI style so effective is its real-world focus on getting the hand to actually work in the context of your own home 🏠🔑.
Instead of just doing abstract exercises, you're trained to use your more-affected limb for meaningful actions, which builds the confidence and strength needed for true independence 🌟💪. By consistently applying these principles of physical training and functional habit-building, many survivors discover that they can indeed regain the ability to grasp and release, turning frustration into a story of incredible success and reco#ARNIstrokerehabi#strokerecoveryr#arniapproacho#UpperLimbRehabIApproach #UpperLimbRehab
Too bad yall aren’t in the US
I used the motor bike to get the gap and had a fairly useful hand 4 years after stroke but I've now got a spastic arm I can't use. 10 years now. Bet you can't tell me how it happened
Approximately 40% of stroke survivors experience this difficulty: to comprehend or produce spoken or written language caused by a cerebrovascular accident. In half of these cases the language impairment still persists one year post-stroke. Aphasia has wide-ranging effects on the ability to function and quality of life of stroke survivors and easily leads to social isolation.
If you need help, ARNI SLT Telerehab can now help YOU, right now, wherever you are in the world!
The latest evidence shows clearly that you can conquer aphasia very successfully with the help of speech and language therapy.
And it also shows that SLT Telerehab is just as effective as in-person, face to face treatment.
We have a team of highly experienced low-cost specialist SLTs (all post-grads from Universities such as UCL, the University of Cape Town etc) who are available to help you right now, in your home, via Zoom. You get a one to one hourly service, based around your diary needs, from the comfort of your own home, with a highly experienced specialist speech and language therapist. Please enquire to arni.uk.com/get-remote-speech-language-help-now/ !
#aphasia #strokesurvivors #strokerecovery #strokerehabilitation #strokerehab #aphasiaawareness #neurorehabilitation #arni #exerciseafterstroke #strokeexercise #strokerecoveryexercises #neuroplasticity #ARNIstrokerehab
www.arni.uk.com
Yes
I had a girlfriend who couldn’t speak after her stroke she used to video call me it was like a game of charades trying to work out what she was trying to say she broke up with me I still don’t know why ??
The fight to save vital local healthcare services in the West Midlands has intensified as over 600 people, including people on our ARNI Stroke Rehab and Recovery page after we highlighted the issue in December, have officially signed a petition to halt the proposed closure of a dedicated stroke rehabilitation centre in the Black Country✊.
Families, former patient and community advocates of Hollybank House are raising their voices in 2026 to protect these essential beds, which provide the specialised, high-intensity care necessary for survivors to regain their independence after a neurological event 🏥🧠. For many in the region, this centre represents the difference between a successful recovery at home and long-term disability, making the news of a potential shutdown deeply distressing for local families 🌈🦾.
Supporters of the petition argue that moving rehabilitation services further away or shifting them to overstretched general wards will create a dangerous postcode lottery for stroke care 📍📉. They highlight that the specific expertise found within this Black Country unit cannot be easily replicated in a standard hospital setting, where the focus is often on acute stabilisation rather than the long-term, multidisciplinary therapy required for neurorehab 🏃♂️.
The community is calling on local NHS leaders to reconsider the impact this closure will have on vulnerable patients who already face an uphill battle during their recovery journey 🤝💔. As the number of signatures continues to grow daily, the organisers are urging more people to join the cause and demand a transparent review of the decision-making process ✍️✨.
ARNI Stroke Rehab UK says that it just demonstrates just how much the public values specialised stroke services that keep patients close to their support networks and loved ones during their most difficult times 🏠❤️. We must ensure that the progress made by stroke survivors isn't stalled by budget cuts or administrative restructuring, so let’s keep the momentum going to save this lifeline for the Black Country community! 🙌📢
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#ARNIStrokeRehabUK #BlackCountryHealth #StrokeRehabilitation #CommunityAction
Spasticity (high tone) A common physical response to brain injury caused by your stroke, spasticity can cause muscles in your arms or legs to tighten uncontrollably, causing pain and discomfort. Spasticity in one or more of your limbs is muscle shortening caused by damage to the portion of your brain or spinal cord that controls voluntary movement. Certain muscles (such as the finger flexors) can become continuously contracted. Spasticity is dependent on the speed with which muscles are moved. So, the faster a sudden, passive stretch is made, the faster your resistance to it will be. Symptoms may include hypertonicity hypertonicity (increased muscle tone), clonus (a series of rapid muscle contractions), exaggerated deep tendon reflexes, muscle spasms, scissoring (involuntary crossing of the legs), and fixed joints. The degree of spasticity varies from mild muscle stiffness to severe, painful, and uncontrollable spasms.
From The Successful Stroke Survivor book by Tom Balchin
#strokerehabilitation #NeuroRehab #strokerehab #neuroplasticity #arnistroke #neurorehabilitation #strokesurvivorscan #strokeexercise #strokerecovery
That book is really hard to read
How do we deal with it?
Very painful
First 2026 ARNI instructor course starts on 24 January 24
This is the ONLY FUNCTIONAL REHABILITATION & EXERCISE TRAINING QUALIFICATION CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE UK which teaches experienced therapists and exercise instructors how to continue the rehabilitation path of stroke and other acquired brain injury survivors.
The course if for therapists and exercise instructors who are Level 3 and above or suitably qualified – who wish to teach functional rehabilitation & exercise training after stroke and receive regular recommendations/referrals from the ARNI Institute.
Find out more, and how to register for the accreditation here arni.uk.com/instructors/
#StrokeRecovery #exerciseafterstroke #strokerecoveryexercises #strokerecovery
Good luck all! We're hoping to get an ARNI instructor soon. 🙏🙏🙏
In 2026, the story of 41-year-old Adam Watkins serves as a powerful and sobering reminder that we must never ignore the subtle warning signs our bodies send us. When Adam woke up with a completely numb, 'dead' sensation in his arm, he initially dismissed it as nothing more than having slept awkwardly during the night. However, as the morning progressed and his speech began to slur, the terrifying reality set in that he wasn't just experiencing a trapped nerve, but was actually in the middle of a life-altering medical emergency 🚑.
Medical professionals later confirmed that Adam had suffered a major stroke, directly linked to his long-term £200-a-month smoking addiction 🚬📉. The toxins from years of heavy smoking had caused significant damage to his cardiovascular system, leading to the critical blockage in his brain. For Adam, the realization that his expensive habit had nearly cost him his life was a devastating wake-up call, highlighting how a daily routine can slowly build up into a catastrophic health crisis without any prior warning signs.
Now on the road to recovery, Adam is sharing his journey to warn others that a stroke can happen to anyone at any age, especially if they are smokers 🚭❤️. He has completely quit the habit and is urging people to recognise the BEFAST symptoms - Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, Time - to ensure nobody else makes the mistake of 'sleeping off' a stroke. Let’s take his story to heart and prioritise our health over our habits to ensure we're there for the people who love us most! 🙌
#StrokeAwareness #StopSmoking #HealthJourney #ActFAST #StrokeSurvivor
Re stress, do see arni.uk.com/unpacking-the-link-between-chronic-stress-and-stroke-risk/
In my partner Harry Taylor's case none of that applied. He was out running, keeping fit, ironically, when bam!! Major brain bleed, still fighting to recover 2.5 years later. Right-side paralysis, no use of right arm, Apraxia, Aphasia, Dysarthria. Permanent brain damage to the basal ganglia area of his brain. We think it was stress from his job. NEVER GIVE UP!! ❤️
I was a smoker too having given up previously for 11 years I started again in 2015 and suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm in 21 not had a cigarette since
None of that applied to me either my stroke was caused by a birthmark on my brain which caused a bleed 8 hour brain surgery to remove the birthmark and stop the bleeding I’ve been left with left side paralysis it’s turned my world upside down! 😥