Stroke Rehabilitation
Stroke Rehabilitation
Personalized, one-on-one rehabilitation to help you improve movement, rebuild everyday skills, and work toward greater independence after a stroke.
ABOUT STROKE
Understanding Stroke and What Recovery Can Look Like
A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel ruptures and causes bleeding. Because different areas of the brain control different functions, a stroke may affect movement, sensation, balance, vision, communication, thinking, energy, and the ability to complete everyday activities. No two people experience these changes in the same way.
At Next Steps Chicago, your rehabilitation plan begins with you, not only your diagnosis. Through one-on-one physical therapy, occupational therapy, and adaptive fitness, we combine skilled care with purposeful practice and advanced neurotechnology. Whether you want to use an affected arm more confidently, improve transfers, practice walking, build endurance, or return to an important daily activity, your goals guide the plan.
At Next Steps Chicago, your rehabilitation plan begins with you, not only your diagnosis. Through one-on-one physical therapy, occupational therapy, and adaptive fitness, we combine skilled care with purposeful practice and advanced neurotechnology. Whether you want to use an affected arm more confidently, improve transfers, practice walking, build endurance, or return to an important daily activity, your goals guide the plan.
Types of Stroke
Every Stroke Is Different
The type of stroke tells you what happened. Where it happened tells you what changed. Both shape what recovery can look like, which is why we assess before we plan.
SYMPTOMS & CHALLENGES
What Stroke Can Affect
One-Sided Weakness or Paralysis
Balance, Coordination and Walking
Arm, Hand and Fine-Motor Control
Sensation, Vision and Spatial Awareness
Speech, Language, Attention and Thinking
Fatigue, Endurance and Daily Activities
The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain was affected and can involve physical, sensory, cognitive, communication, and emotional changes. Post-stroke fatigue may also continue long after the initial event.
OUR APPROACH
How We Build Your Recovery Plan
Rehabilitation uses meaningful, repeated practice to support relearning and help the brain and body develop more effective ways of completing tasks. Every program begins with an individual evaluation rather than a standard routine. Every program begins with an individual evaluation rather than a standard routine.
01
Understand Your Starting Point
We begin by learning about your stroke history, medical considerations, present abilities, daily routines, and priorities. Your evaluation may examine movement, balance, mobility, arm and hand use, coordination, endurance, and performance of everyday activities.
02
Set Goals That Matter
Together, we turn personal priorities into specific and measurable goals. That may mean standing from a chair more safely, reaching into a cabinet, using the affected hand during a task, improving walking, or returning to an activity you value.
03
Practice With Purpose
Your plan may combine physical therapy, occupational therapy, adaptive fitness, functional task practice, balance and gait training, strengthening, and clinically appropriate technology. One-on-one sessions allow assistance, feedback, and challenge to be adjusted as you work.
04
Measure, Adapt and Continue
We monitor meaningful changes and update the plan as your abilities and priorities evolve. When appropriate, adaptive fitness can help carry strength, endurance, and activity goals forward beyond a traditional episode of skilled therapy.
Our Technology
The Tools That Make the Difference
Most of this equipment lives inside major hospital systems. Technology is never the entire plan. At Next Steps Chicago, it is carefully selected and paired with skilled, one-on-one care to support specific movement and functional and participation goals.
ONWARD ARC-EX is FDA-approved spinal cord stimulation for upper extremity function. We’re one of the first two outpatient clinics in the country to offer it.
Ekso Indego is a robotic exoskeleton that enables patients with severe paralysis to stand and walk during intensive gait training.
Lokomat Robotic-assisted body weight-supported treadmill training—the gold standard in gait rehabilitation.
Stroll AR Goggles Augmented reality for balance and gait training. We’re the first outpatient clinic in the U.S. to integrate this technology.
RT 300 FES Cycle & XCITE Functional electrical stimulation systems that activate paralyzed muscles, building strength and cardiovascular health.
FAQ
Stroke recovery does not follow one universal timeline. Changes may happen over weeks, months, or years, and people may continue working on strength, movement efficiency, safety, adaptive strategies, endurance, and participation later in recovery. An evaluation helps identify which goals and approaches are appropriate for you now.
Rehabilitation recommendations are based on more than the type of stroke. Medical stability, the part of the brain affected, current function, additional health conditions, safety, and personal goals all influence the plan. An individual evaluation is required before services or technology can be recommended.
No. Walking is only one possible goal. Rehabilitation may address seated balance, trunk control, transfers, wheelchair mobility, affected arm and hand use, standing, coordination, strength, endurance, or greater participation in daily activities.
There is no standard rehabilitation timeline. The length of care depends on the severity and location of the stroke, the functions affected, additional health conditions, personal goals, and how the individual responds to therapy.
Some people may need rehabilitation for several weeks, while others continue targeted therapy, exercise, or adaptive fitness for months or years. The plan should be reviewed and adjusted as abilities, challenges, and priorities change.
Insurance coverage varies according to the plan, service, medical necessity, referral requirements, and number of authorized visits. The American Stroke Association and Johns Hopkins recommends confirming which rehabilitation services and providers are covered before beginning a program.
START YOUR NEXT STEP
Wherever You Are in Recovery, Your Goals Still Matter
Whether you want to improve balance, use an affected arm more confidently, move through your home more safely, build endurance, or return to an activity that matters to you, the first step is understanding where you are today.
Tell us what you are working toward, and our team will help you explore a stroke rehabilitation plan built around your abilities, priorities, and daily life.