Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction

Stroke Recovery, What Now?: When Physical Therapy Ends, But Your Recovery Continues by Tracy L. Markley

In “Stroke Recovery; What Now?” Tracy brings as much knowledge and experience as she can, hoping to help survivors continue with their personal stroke recovery. She teaches about the biomechanics of the body’s movements based on science. Tracy has helped several survivors achieve continued success in their stroke recovery. In “Stroke Recovery; What Now?” Tracy’s desire is to bring understanding to why specific muscles must be strengthened before other movements in the body can improve. Included in this book, are several important exercises for survivors and anyone who wants to become more stable when they stand and walk. There are also descriptions of why each exercise works. Tracy shares tips to improve a drop foot, spasticity, muscle strength, balance, communication, spatial awareness, cognitive skills, brain care and more. Tracy asked more than one hundred survivors about the struggles and challenges they faced when they were left on their own to continue their recovery. She was surprised by many of the tough challenges some faced, and she was determined to include all concerns in this book. There is no time frame on stroke recovery. Learning ways to help your brain build new pathways and helping your body move correctly more will assist you toward further recovery.

Title: Stroke Recovery, What Now?: When Physical Therapy Ends, But Your Recovery Continues

Author: Tracy L. Markley

Pages: 203

My review

This book is an all-in-one solution for every stroke survivor. Many survivors are confused on their recovery process after the limited physical therapy sessions. Either they don’t have proper knowledge of the continuing recovery or they may have the financial constraints to carry on physical therapy sessions. They may not have proper knowledge of the muscle groups that are affected by each exercises and the home workouts. Tracy has more than 20 years of experience in this field and helped many survivors in her long career. All her real-life experiences are bundled together and presented through this guide.

This is an A-Z guide on stroke and recovery. She starts from the basic information about stroke and its types. Then move on to the long recovery process. Along with illustrations on the exercises from beginner to advanced levels, she also stresses out the role of support groups. Many stroke survivors struggle with remembering things and depression. A strong support group is an excellent way out in this process.

One of the unique features of this book is its comprehensive coverage on all relevant topics. This significantly reduced my search for other books in this subject. Because it has anatomical illustrations, explanations and exercise diagrams. This is indeed a very helpful guide.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Stroke Recovery: Regaining Arm Movement by Tracy Markley | Review

In Stroke Recovery, Rebuilding Arm Movements, Tracy share illustrations of the many muscles in the body that participate in the movement of the arm and exercises. In many cases, stroke recovery patients do not receive enough physical therapy to help them reach the full potential in their stroke recovery. This leaves many stroke survivors seeking help from other sources, such as personal trainers, Pilates teachers, and other professionals in the fitness communities. Tracy believes when a survivor gains more knowledge of muscles and movement and why specific exercises need to be practiced, it leads to a stronger recovery.

Title: Stroke Recovery: Regaining Arm Movement

Author: Tracy Markley

Pages: 103

My review

The arm is a very complex body part. It is designed to carry out more than 70% of our daily activities. We can lift weights and pick a needle using the same hand. The layers of muscle and bones are arranged to efficiently carry out every activity. Regaining arm movement is a difficult task for a stroke survivor. I know this fact because I witnessed this difficulty when my father had a stroke. We were more concentrated on walking gait. Although we didn’t ignore arm exercises, it was not enough. I learned these facts from this book. In all her books, the author stresses the importance of posture for a healthy body. Because the hand movements are directly connected with back and core muscles.

We have to devote more time and adopt a variety of exercises to regain the arm movement. This book a smooth guide for everything we need to know. It has detailed explanations and illustrations on the muscle groups. This helped me to understand which exercise affects which muscles and joints. This in turn helped to comprehensively understand the anatomy. The author herself demonstrated every exercise and its variations. This resolved all my doubts.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction

Stroke Recovery: Leg Stability and Walking Gait by Tracy Markley | Review

In Stroke Recovery Leg Stability and Walking Gait, Tracy brings, hope knowledge, and exercises that can assist a survivor in the healing the leg, foot drop, hyperextended knee and walking gait. She had included anatomy illustrations and exercises in this book. In many cases stroke survivors do not receive enough physical therapy to help them reach the full potential in their stroke recovery. This will leave many stroke survivors seeking help from other sources, such as personal trainers, Pilates teachers, and other professionals in the fitness industry. This book is filled with important information to help a survivor while in physical therapy as well as to help guide in their continued recovery when physical therapy has ended. This is also a great learning source for fitness and physical therapy professionals. Tracy teaches the importance of having a strong core, spine, and back muscles to maintain proper posture. Proper posture is essential to build and maintain the correct positioning of the hips and pelvic girdle. This is essential for the legs to become in balance and strength for safe and functional movement. The hip joint (ball and socket) moves in several directions. You will learn exercises and tips to correct posture and to regain leg strength, movements and walking gait.

Title: Stroke Recovery: Leg Stability and Walking Gait

Author: Tracy Markley

Pages: 172

My review

Stroke Recovery: Leg stability and walking gait is a comprehensive guide dealing the subject holistically. Stroke recovery is a difficult and complex process. I had zero knowledge on this issue before. Because it was not a matter of concern in my life. But when my father suffered a stroke, I began to search for more information.

Stroke recovery is a long process and a highly demanding one. It cannot be treated just like any other diseases. Recovery is an emotionally and physically draining process, not only for the survivor, but also for the family members. This book was a boon in this matter.

The author has explained every minute detail and covered A-Z issues. This one book is enough for practical and theoretical purpose. The book is structured in a way that, it progresses from basic to advanced. At first, details about a joint are explained and then the exercises are introduced. The author has given due importance to the safety too. I find this is extremely helpful, because survivors are prone to accidents and injuries. Although the book addresses stroke survivors primarily, I find this a lot helpful to correct my posture and improve my exercise schedule. This also can be used as a professional study guide on human anatomy.