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Stroke Rehabilitation Cairns

Stroke

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Specialised stroke rehabilitation to support your recovery.

Stroke recovery is deeply personal—shaped by the location of the brain injury, the abilities affected, and what you hope to achieve. That’s why your rehabilitation should be tailored to you.

At Royal Rehab LifeWorks Cairns, we deliver personalised stroke rehabilitation that brings together clinical expertise and advanced technology. Whether it’s relearning everyday skills, building strength and confidence, or working toward greater independence, we’re here to support your journey. With your goals at the centre, we help you move forward with purpose, progress, and expert care.

Stroke rehabilitation targets

  • Mobility and balance: Enhance ability to stand, walk, and manage the risk of falling.
  • Muscle strength: Build and maintain strength to support overall physical function.
  • Fatigue: Implement strategies to improve energy levels and endurance.
  • Arm and hand use: Increase use and strength of upper limbs.
  • Swallowing difficulties: Reduce the risk of choking and ensure safe, enjoyable eating and drinking.
  • Speech and communication: Develop clearer and more effective communication skills.
  • Cognitive function: Enhance memory and problem-solving abilities.
  • Mental wellbeing: Support psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing.
  • Independence: Enhance independence through home modifications, adaptive equipment, and assistive technologies.

Your program may include

Neurological physiotherapy
By focusing on neuroplasticity, movement, strength, and everyday function, our physiotherapists support recovery with targeted techniques.
  • Task-specific training: Practising real-life movements to retrain the brain, helping with walking, siting, standing, and moving independently.
  • Building strength: Tailored exercises strengthen weakened muscles, improving stability and preventing further strength loss.
  • Enhancing balance and coordination: Specialised exercises improve balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls and improving ability to engage in functional tasks.
  • Improving arm and hand function: Strengthening and coordination exercises help restore movement and dexterity in affected limbs.
  • Managing muscle stiffness (Spasticity): Stretching and positioning techniques help reduce tightness and improve comfort.
  • Reducing pain: Physiotherapy helps alleviate joint and muscle pain caused by imbalances or improper movement.
  • Preventing complications: Regular movement and therapy help reduce the risk of issues like pressure sores, contractures, and blood clots.
  • Boosting confidence and wellbeing: Achieving progress through physiotherapy can enhance self-esteem and overall quality of life.
Occupational therapy
By focusing on practical skills and adaptive strategies, occupational therapists empower you to navigate daily challenges more effectively.
  • Enhancing independence: Learn new techniques to perform everyday activities such as dressing, cooking, and bathing with greater ease.
  • Improving arm and hand function: Strengthening and coordination exercises help restore movement and dexterity in affected limbs.
  • Enhancing vision and perception: Techniques and adaptive strategies can help manage visual impairments and spatial awareness challenges.
  • Adapting the home and environment: Therapists provide recommendations for home modifications, such as grab bars or adaptive equipment, to improve safety and accessibility.
  • conserving energy and managing fatigue: Learn strategies to pace activities, conserve energy, and prevent overexertion.
  • Return to work & community activities: Tailored strategies help individuals regain skills needed for work, hobbies, and social engagement.
Speech pathology
A stroke can affect the ability to speak, understand language, and even swallow. Speech therapy plays a vital role in helping individuals regain these essential skills, improving both independence and quality of life.
  • Improving communication skills: Help express thoughts more clearly, understand spoken language, and engage in meaningful conversations. This may involve exercises to improve word retrieval, sentence structure, pronunciation, and overall clarity.
  • Managing aphasia: aphasia affects the ability to speak, read, write, or understand language. Speech therapy provides structured exercises to strengthen these skills, helping individuals communicate more effectively.
  • Dysphagia treatment (swallowing support): Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) is common after a stroke and can lead to choking or aspiration pneumonia. Speech therapists assess swallowing function and provide targeted exercises to strengthen throat and mouth muscles, making eating and drinking safer and more comfortable.
  • Alternative communication strategies: If verbal speech remains difficult, therapists introduce alternative methods such as picture boards, gestures, or assistive communication devices to help individuals express themselves in new ways.
  • Cognitive rehabilitation: Communication is closely linked to cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and problem-solving. Speech therapy can incorporate cognitive exercises to help individuals improve thinking and language skills, supporting everyday interactions.
  • Emotional wellbeing and confidence: Losing the ability to communicate can be frustrating and isolating. Speech therapy not only restores language skills but also helps rebuild confidence, reducing feelings of frustration and improving social engagement.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, or aquatic therapy, is highly beneficial in stoke rehab due to the buoyancy and warmth of water.
  • Improving balance and coordination: The buoyancy of water offers support, reducing the risk of falls and allowing you to practice balance exercises with greater confidence, which is key to regaining stability and independence.
  • Increasing muscle strength: Water resistance naturally provides a form of resistance during movement, helping to build muscle strength in weakened areas, even for individuals with limited mobility.
  • Enhancing range of motion: The warm temperature of the water helps relax muscles and reduce stiffness, promoting greater joint mobility and flexibility.
  • Reducing pain: The soothing warmth of the water can alleviate muscle pain and spasms, helping to relax the body and reduce discomfort.
  • Improving gait and walking ability: Practicing walking in water can help you relearn proper gait patterns and improve walking ability by offering a low-impact way to work on movement.
  • Proprioceptive training: The water provides sensory input, enhancing body awareness, which is often impaired due to neurological injury or condition, helping you regain a better sense of movement and positioning.
  • Enhancing cardiovascular health: Aquatic exercises improve cardiovascular fitness, supporting overall physical recovery and stamina.
  • Enhancing mental wellbeing: The supportive, weightless environment of water can boost confidence and motivation, helping you maintain a positive mindset throughout your rehabilitation journey.
  • Reducing spasticity: The buoyancy and resistance of water can help manage muscle spasticity (muscle tightness), by providing gentle movement and reducing strain.
Exercise physiology
Using tailored, evidence-based movement programs, our exercise physiologists focus on rebuilding strength, restoring function, and improving overall health and wellbeing.
  • Enhancing physical function: Structured exercise helps regain mobility, endurance, and independence in daily activities.
  • Improving cardiovascular health: Aerobic exercise supports heart and lung function, reducing the risk of future strokes.
  • Building strength and endurance: Targeted resistance training combats muscle weakness and fatigue following stroke.
  • Enhancing balance and coordination: Exercises are designed to improve stability, reducing falls and promoting safer movement.
  • Supporting neuroplasticity: Repetitive, meaningful movement patterns help the brain rewire and adapt for recovery.
  • Managing fatigue: Graded exercise programs are designed to improve energy levels and reduce stroke-related fatigue.
  • Addressing chronic conditions: Programs consider co-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity.
  • Encouraging long-term self-management: Education and home-based exercise plans empower individuals to maintain their progress.
  • Boosting mood and motivation: Physical activity supports mental health, confidence, and a sense of control over recovery.
Psychology
Our psychologists support you in navigating emotional, cognitive, and behavioural changes, helping to build resilience, independence, and a positive outlook during recovery.
  • Adjusting to life after stroke: Therapy helps individuals process the emotional impact of stroke and adapt to new realities.
  • Managing mood changes: Psychological support addresses common issues like depression, anxiety, frustration, and grief.
  • Improving cognitive function: Strategies are provided to support attention, memory, problem-solving, and executive functioning.
  • Enhancing coping skills: Therapy builds resilience and equips individuals with tools to manage stress and setbacks.
  • Supporting identity and self-esteem: Psychologists help rebuild a sense of self and confidence after stroke-related changes.
  • Promoting behaviour change: Support with motivation, goal setting, and habit formation assists with rehabilitation and health goals.
  • Supporting relationships: Therapy can address the impact of stroke on communication, family dynamics, and social connections.
  • Assisting with fatigue and sleep: Psychological strategies help manage sleep difficulties and fatigue that can affect recovery.
  • Empowering carers and families: Education and emotional support extend to loved ones to promote a holistic approach to care.
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NDIS Funding
Medicare funding
MyAgedCare funding
Health insurance

Meet the team

Every day, I see the resilience of the human spirit. It’s what drives me to keep giving my best.

Katrina
Physiotherapist
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Our locations

New South Wales

Ryde Petersham Collaroy Penrith Ryde-Eastwood Dubbo

Queensland

Cairns Townsville Brisbane Atherton

Victoria

Melbourne
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1800 966 212
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