Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital offer hand massages to stroke victims

The volunteer organiser at this hospital has organised for trained volunteers to give hand massages to stroke victims and other brain-damaged patients. This one-to-one treatment is not only very therapeutic for patients, many of whom may be struggling to regain full movement of their limbs, for many it is also extremely comforting to have such personal treatment and attention. Some of the volunteers giving the treatment have suffered strokes themselves and so have a huge understanding of the many complex problems these patients have to deal with on a daily basis.

The benefits are huge and varied. Not only does the patient benefit physically from this relaxing treatment, relatives and friends are also comforted in the knowledge that their loved ones are getting this individual attention in their abscense. The fact that some of the therapists have had strokes and recovered, is encouraging for those patients who are still in the early stages of treatment. These people intuitively understand their many anxieties as well as their many physical and emotional needs.

When I spoke to one such therapist, she explained that, through doing the treatments, she felt she was giving something back to the hospital that had done so much to help her recover.

Her work is an invaluable asset to the patients she treats. When she leaves the hospital each week, she can take great pride in the fact that she has made a real difference to the patients she has seen.

Jill