Ballerina Said Before I Had a Stroke I Was Graceful, But Now I Want to Correct Clumsiness

Clumsiness happens after a stroke:

A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted, damaging areas responsible for movement, sensation, and coordination. Clumsiness can make you feel like independence is lost, like spilling food or dropping a drink, potentially worsening sensitivity or depression.

As most likely a one-handed survivor, you’re adapting to significant physical changes, and your resilience in managing stroke and depression. The strategies below aim to reduce clumsiness, and even boost confidence and support mental health, custom-made for you.

Everyone who takes advantage of and practices what I’ve written relies on finely-tuned motor control, balance, and proprioception (means allowing your brain to know the position of your body in space without having to rely on visual input alone; also crucial to maintaining balance), which may now feel disrupted. Here’s why:

• Stroke often causes spasticity or weakness on one side. This can make movements feel unsteady.
• The vestibular system or brainstem, if impacted, can affect balance.
• The motor cortex, which controls voluntary movements, may be affected, leading to weakness (hemiparesis) and/or impaired fine motor skills. 
• If the stroke affected the cerebellum, which coordinates fine movements, you may experience ataxia (or uncoordinated movements), causing clumsiness in walking or gestures. Cerebellar or pathway damage may lead to ataxia causing jerky or inaccurate actions. A non-functional arm or just one hand may cause spasticity or  poor posture, disrupting balance and making one-handed tasks harder.
• Damage to sensory areas like the parietal lobe can impair proprioception, making it hard to sense where your limbs are, leading to missteps or fumbling.
• Post-stroke depression and increased sensitivity can reduce focus and energy, contributing to clumsiness. 
• Impaired proprioception from parietal lobe damage can make your functional hand’s movements imprecise, increasing errors.
• Neuroplasticity allows improvement, but residual damage means full pre-stroke poise may be hard to adjust.
• Post-stroke fatigue also slows reaction times, your reported sensitivity, and depression reduce focus and energy, worsening clumsiness, especially during high-effort tasks.
• Relying on one hand (possibly non-dominant) for all activities increases fatigue and errors, as it handles more demand than pre-stroke.

Re-train balance and coordination:

• Heel of one foot touching toes of the other.
• With feet in tandem, extend your functional arm forward at shoulder height.

  • Slowly move arm side-to-side for 30 sec without losing foot alignment.

  • Switch foot position and repeat.

The strategies below aim to improve coordination while paying tribute to your emotional needs, helping you regain a sense of control and self-assurance in new ways.

Engage in physical therapy exercises:

• Therapy strengthens weak muscles, reduces spasticity, and retrains neural pathways for smoother movement.
• Exercises to remediate :
  • Stand in front of a mirror and practice slow, controlled movements to give you visual feedback improves proprioception.
  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, shift weight side-to-side or front-to-back slowly. Hold a chair if needed. Do 10 reps, 2 times/day.
  • Walk in a straight line, placing heel to toe like a sobriety test. Use a wall for support. Aim for 10 steps, 3 times/day.
  • Touch your nose, then a target a wall mark, alternating hands. Do 10 reps per side, 2 times/day.
• Listen to your body to avoid fatigue.
• Again, ask your doctor for a referral and then work with a physical therapist specializing in stroke rehab. 

Practice balance training:

• Refine proprioception and body awareness:

  • Your increased sensitivity and depression 10 years post-stroke can worsen clumsiness by reducing energy, fatigue, and focus.
    • Practice exercises in 5 to 10 minute bursts to avoid fatigue which magnifies clumsiness. Rest in a quiet space to manage sensory sensitivity.
    • Exercise in a low-stimulus setting, that is, dim lights and no loud sounds to reduce sensory overload.
    • Do 2 to 3 minutes of deep breathing, called mindfulness, by inhaling 4 seconds and exhale 6 seconds, before exercises to center yourself, reducing emotional sensitivity result.
• Training the vestibular system and core can reduce unsteadiness:

• • Hold onto a chair, stand on one leg for 5 to 10 seconds, and then switch sides. Do 5 reps per leg, 2 times/day.

• • Yoga emphasize slow, controlled movements. Try a seated or beginner class called chair yoga. 
  • Use a wobble board to challenge balance (if permitted). Start with 1 to 2 minutes, supervised.

Address sensory and proprioceptive deficits :

• If proprioception is impaired, movements feel clumsy because you can’t sense limb positions.
  • Rub a textured cloth over affected limb(s) to sense nerves before exercises. Do 1 to 2 minutes per limb.
  • Gently press joints with your hand to enhance proprioceptive feedback. Do 5 presses per joint, 2 times/day.
  • Practice movements with eyes closed to rely on body sense, rebuilding proprioception. Use support for safety. Do 5 reps, 1 time/day.
• Work with an occupational therapist to review sensory retraining, leveraging your body awareness.

Improve fine motor skills:

• Clumsiness in hands like dropping things can stem from impaired movement, affecting daily tasks.
• Squeeze or pinch putty (available online from Amazon) to strengthen hand muscles. Do 5 minutes, 2 times/day.
• Coin Pickup: Pick up coins from a table and place them in a cup, using affected hand. Do 10 reps, 2 times/day.
• Trace circles on paper or in the air with your finger, focusing on smooth motion. Do 10 circles per hand, 2 times/day.