Have you encountered therapy animals during inpatient stroke recovery?

Posted by Lisa Lucier, Moderator @lisalucier, Aug 14 3:00pm

I saw that this study just came out in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic's medical journal. The study is authored by some investigators from Mayo Clinic and other institutions:

- The Impact of Animal-Assisted Treatment on Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025619626184894

This basically says that interaction with a therapy animal had a positive effect on stroke patients’ activity level, engagement and motivation during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

I have never had a hospital visit from a therapy animal, but I've known a couple of relatives who have had their dogs trained for this purpose and then visited hospital patients.

Have you seen a therapy animal during your recovery? If so, how was that encounter or encounters?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases Support Group.

Scott R L | @scottrl | Aug 14 5:36pm

When I was first hospitalized after my stroke, one day "Carma" came by to say hello -- a lovely Collie.
I was asleep, and they weren't going to wake me up, but my wife asked them to.

I was so glad! It cheered me up a lot. I never saw Carma again, but I got a real boost from seeing a friendly doggie face.

sophie98 | @sophie98 | 1 day ago

I haven’t personally experienced a therapy animal during recovery, but I can definitely see how meaningful that interaction could be, especially during a difficult rehabilitation period. Sometimes a friendly animal can provide a kind of encouragement and emotional boost that’s hard to get from anything else. It’s interesting to see research now showing that this may also translate into greater motivation and physical activity during rehabilitation.
https://nhspayscale.co.uk