Rapport in Stroke Rehab: Building Trust for Better Recovery

🧠 World Stroke Day – 29th October Every year, thousands of stroke survivors in England miss out on the recommended 45 minutes of daily therapy (NHS England, 2022). As clinicians, we know that early, intensive, and structured rehabilitation can change recovery trajectories — but systemic barriers often get in the way. 📉 Excessive admin. 📉 Duplicated documentation. 📉 Limited staff and resources. 📉 Gaps in applying evidence-based guidelines. As this Monday was Stroke Awareness Day, it’s worth asking: how much more therapy time could we unlock if these barriers were reduced? That’s where Kompass comes in. Designed by clinicians, for clinicians, Kompass supports stroke rehab teams by: ✅ Streamlining goal setting with ICF-based assessments, SMART objectives, and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) ✅ Automating reporting and reducing duplicated notes ✅ Making progress visible across the whole interdisciplinary team in real-time ✅ Freeing up valuable hours so clinicians can spend more time with patients, not paperwork With stroke services stretched, tools like Kompass aren’t about replacing best practice — they’re about making it possible. This Stroke Awareness Day, we want to champion the clinicians driving recovery every day — and highlight how the right digital support can help make 45 minutes of therapy a reality. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ecYtbvJR #StrokeAwarenessDay #StrokeRehabilitation #KompassPlatform #DigitalHealth #Neurorehab #ClinicalOutcomes #HealthInnovation #MultidisciplinaryCare

Our new stroke awareness campaign ‘Every Second Counts’ has recently launched. The campaign reinforces knowledge and understanding of stroke symptoms while focusing on the importance of quick action when a stroke is suspected. In Ireland, every year, around 7,500 people experience a stroke. About 90,000 people live with disability and the effects of stroke. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of acquired neurological disability. "Many people still hesitate before calling an ambulance. This new campaign is designed to close that gap - to make sure the second you suspect a stroke is the second you dial 999 or 112. Doing so saves lives and reduces disability,” Professor Rónán Collins, National Clinical Lead for Stroke. Read more: https://bit.ly/4gPJHlx #OurHealthService | #EverySecondCounts | #StrokeAwareness | #FASTcampaign | #StrokeRehabilitation | #SupportedDischarge | Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD

It was fantastic to see Matthew J. Berryman present on “Recovery After Stroke: Challenging the Myth of a Time Limit for Functional Recovery.” In his talk, Matthew Berryman shared from his own lived experience as a haemorrhagic stroke survivor, showing how significant recovery in fine motor skills, communication, and more can continue well beyond the usual “six-to-twelve-month window.” He emphasized how ongoing support, evidence-based information, and the right mindset are crucial for sustaining motivation and enabling incremental, meaningful gains over time. His message is powerful and timely: recovery after stroke is not strictly time-limited. Clinicians, researchers and the stroke community all have a role in shifting narratives — from “you’ve passed the window” to “there’s possibility in continued recovery.” #SmartStrokes2025 #StrokeRecovery #Neuroplasticity #LivedExperience #Rehabilitation #Hope #StrokeCommunity #RecoveryIsPossible

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have a devastating impact on millions of people, but a new approach could change how doctors diagnose and treat these injuries. The latest NINDS Director's Message highlights a new framework developed by NINDS-funded researchers. This advanced approach moves beyond the current "mild," "moderate," and "severe" labels to provide a more accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment, offering new hope for TBI patients and their families. Learn more in the latest NINDS Director's Message: https://lnkd.in/edHghczN

At Kaizen Brain Center we have been at the forefront of implementing the NIH framework for endophenotyping TBI based on Clinical, Biomarker, Imaging and Genetics- and it’s already changing how we understand concussion/brain injury. Through our flagship Kaizen Concussion Program, we now have a growing patientcohort under this framework. Check out the link below, https://lnkd.in/g5D2xeJ8 As we analyze our data, here is a sneak preview of what my physician instincts are picking up: - Abnormal DTI on MRI is correlating with plasma NFL protein - GFAP protein is emerging as a strong biomarker for neuroinflamation. - Plasma ptau217 seems to be correlating with increase risk of neurodegeneration. - Repeated abnormal plasma biomarkers that trend downward appears to align with symptoms resolution. Too early, but I am starting to beleive that we may eventually interpret these like PSA levels in prostrate diseases. We will be glad to collaborate with others pushing the field of precision TBI medicine forward. Stay tuned. #concussion #TBI #Brainhealth #Alzheimer #CTE #TRACKTBI #precisionmedicine #Kaizenbraincenter

What role does the heart play in return-to-work rehab? Whether it’s cancer treatment, musculoskeletal injury or fatigue, time away from work nearly always means cardiovascular deconditioning. And that impacts endurance, recovery and capacity. The good news? The heart adapts like any other muscle. With the right education and exercise prescription, clients rebuild not just physical function but the confidence to trust their own body again. This week’s blog, in honour of World Heart Day, unpacks how movement remodels the heart and why cardiac health is central to almost every rehab journey. If you want claimants to not just return to work but to be durable in their work, their recovery has to include the heart.

🧠 Stroke Rehabilitation: Why goal setting and the right tool matter more than ever Despite national guidelines calling for intensive, structured stroke rehabilitation, UK services are still falling short. Research shows that early, high-intensity rehab improves outcomes, yet systemic barriers, especially around admin time and ineffective goal setting, are holding back progress. 🎯 Goal setting is a critical, evidence-based component of stroke recovery. Done well, it enhances patient engagement, functional outcomes, and the continuity of care. However, many clinicians face time constraints, fragmented systems, and a lack of structure to deliver this consistently. That’s where Kompass steps in. Kompass is a digital rehabilitation platform designed to reinforce best practice care delivery by: ✅ Streamlining multidisciplinary goal setting using structured, best-practice templates ✅ Reducing administrative burden and improving team communication ✅ Enabling real-time tracking of progress against goals ✅ Supporting national digital health priorities and equity in rehabilitation By modernising goal setting and service delivery, Kompass enables clinicians and MDT’s to spend more time on intervention and less time on admin. 🔗 Read the full article: How goal setting can be leveraged to meet guidelines for stroke care provision https://lnkd.in/ecYtbvJR #StrokeRehabilitation #GoalSetting #DigitalHealth #Neurorehab #NHSInnovation #KompassPlatform #HealthEquity #ClinicalOutcomes #MultidisciplinaryCare #RehabilitationExcellence

The Brain Injury Association of America and a group of brain injury organizations and advocates have released a joint statement aimed at improving how brain injuries are discussed and understood. The guidance document, titled Communicating about Brain Injury, was developed collaboratively by healthcare providers, researchers, and people with lived experience of brain injury. "This joint statement represents a great collaboration between the leading brain injury organizations," said Rick Willis, President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America. "By working together, we’ve created guidance that can help ensure more clear and consistent communication between people with brain injury, caregivers, researchers, and healthcare professionals." View our statement and learn more about communicating about brain injury here: https://bit.ly/3KA8z4B

The Brain Injury Association of America and a group of brain injury organizations and advocates have released a joint statement aimed at improving how brain injuries are discussed and understood. The guidance document, titled Communicating about Brain Injury, was developed collaboratively by healthcare providers, researchers, and people with lived experience of brain injury. "This joint statement represents a great collaboration between the leading brain injury organizations," said Rick Willis, President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America. "By working together, we’ve created guidance that can help ensure more clear and consistent communication between people with brain injury, caregivers, researchers, and healthcare professionals." View the statement and learn more about communicating about brain injury here: https://bit.ly/3KA8z4B