By skyforbes 
Physical activity reduces your stroke risk by between 25% and 30%, but it doesn’t just decrease your risk of having a stroke. Exercise also increases your chance of regaining function after a stroke. Unfortunately, stroke survivors don’t always realize that their chance of recovery may have more to do with their rehabilitation efforts than with the initial extent of their brain injury.
In fact, when stroke survivors have trouble performing daily functions, it isn’t always because of the stroke itself. Brain damage also causes problems that indirectly lead to loss of physical function. After suffering a stroke, survivors who don’t begin an exercise regimen will experience additional, preventable problems such as physical deconditioning and fatigue…
They may also face a variety of obstacles that make it more difficult to begin exercising, such as:
- Lack of social support
- Financial instability
- Depression
- Severity of physical symptoms
- Fatigue
- Frustration
- Confusion
- Lack of motivation
These barriers are precisely why a tailored, consistent exercise regimen is such an important part of proper post-stroke care. When patients receive support, tools, and specific instructions to keep them active after a stroke, obstacles such as fatigue and depression will get smaller and less powerful, making it easier to continue a regimen of aerobic and strength-training exercises.
These exercises, in turn, give patients the power to reclaim lost abilities and get back to the life they had before the stroke. According to the American Heart Association, exercising after a stroke is a crucial way to improve the following:
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Walking ability
- Muscle strength
- Flexibility
- Coordination
- Cognitive function
- Mental health
- Memory
- Quality of life
Any amount of physical activity is a positive step for stroke survivors. Over time, even light activity such as walking around the block or doing laundry will contribute to physical improvements and help prevent the deconditioning that leads to further deterioration. However, activities of moderate intensity are even more beneficial for your health. If you want to reclaim a specific function, for example, you can incorporate a variety of at-home exercises to target individual body parts.