Cerebrovascular accident: a rehabilitation process case study and the specific intervention of a physical education teacher

Abstract

This paper is a progress report. Its aim is to share our experience in a non-traditional area for instructors, teachers or graduates in Physical Education, Recreation and Sports. Until not long ago, physical therapy was an alien and distant area, far from our professional practice as physical educators. But a personal situation put us in direct contact with this reality and, while acting as a PE teacher, it provided us with the opportunity to work, experiment, explore, and research a particular process of rehabilitation. The objective of this research was to re-establish relevant and particularly significant motor functions of our subject, who suffers from hemiplegia caused by a cerebrovascular accident. He is a 70-year-old friend whom we have been accompanying and helping in his recovery for the past two years. The methodological design used was experimental and together we have accomplished a great deal in his rehabilitation. The neuroplasticity of the central nervous system, the subject’s motivation, and his athletic background seem to be our greatest allies.