Physiotherapy programme in unspecific haemorrhagic brain stroke: A case study of a young adult

Abstract

Background: Stroke in young people can leave them with a disability before their most productive years due to a lack of awareness in the young adult population. Rehabilitation of young stroke patients is often associated with a variety of social problems. Aims: To present a case report of the rehabilitation of a 31-year-old patient with uncommon symptoms hospitalised due to haemorrhagic stroke in the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory. Case report: This article presents the case of a 31-year-old woman with uncommon neurological symptoms. A head CT scan revealed a haemorrhagic area in the left MCA territory. The physical examination showed a deterioration in general functioning and upper quadrant hemianopia but no signs of focal central nervous system (CNS) damage and gait problems. The patient followed the doctors’ recommendations to exercise under the supervision of a physiotherapist, rest and try not to strain too much. Functional ability was assessed three times: 8 days after hospital admission (23 days from the stroke), 6 months and 1 year after the hospital stay. The Barthel Index (BI), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Tandem Pivot Test (TPT) were performed. The patient case report was given BI scores of 70, 100 and 100 points, BBS scores of 31, 47 and 55 points and TPT scores of 3, 5 and 5 points at eight days, six months and one year after the hospital stay, respectively. Summary: In the case report, the patient’s head CT scan revealed a haemorrhage in an area in the left MCA territory. This phenomenon is prognostically bad if it occurs up to six hours after the stroke incident. In this case, almost two weeks passed from the first uncommon stroke symptoms to the proper medical treatment. Physiotherapy exercise programmes provide a chance for proper medical and rehabilitation treatment and faster recovery for patients.