Stroke Rehabilitation—An Overview of Existing Guidelines and Standards of Care

Over seven million stroke survivors live in the US today. Despite the publication of the first post-stroke rehabilitation clinical practice guideline in 1995, many healthcare providers are unaware not only of stroke survivors’ potential for functional recovery, but also common secondary complications of stroke. This article summarizes the best available evidence-based recommendations for interdisciplinary management of the stroke survivor and caregivers from five sources: two in the US, one in Canada, and two in the UK. Unique characteristics of each guideline are described, followed by a list of common clinical recommendations found in most, if not all, of the guidelines. Despite the advances in stroke rehabilitation over the past 16 years, much research still needs to be done to improve the level of evidence in stroke rehabilitation.