“Can the brain repair itself after a stroke?”

The portion of the brain damaged by the stroke does not repair

Yes. However, not all strokes are the same. Some are due to a bleed, where others are due to ischemia. There are many other factors that contribute to recovery from stroke and recovery is often based on these factors.

Hi, and yes, this brain can repair itself with the help of rehabilitation therapies such as physical therapy, occupational, and speech therapy.
I hope this helps.

There are three phases to recovery after a stroke or other acute brain injuries. First is recovering from the acute event, which includes cell damage, edema, chemical imbalances. This is usually a few days to a week or so. Second is where cells and nerve connections are damaged, but not completely destroyed or dead. These injured cells and axons can recover, but over several weeks usually. Thirdly, other cells, nerve centers and brain regions began to take over for some lost functions. This is called brain plasticity and occurs over many months to years. This third event is the challenge of rehabilitation. It can be facilitated by trained therapies, including many, many repetitive therapeutic activities. Physical, occupational speech therapies can help select which activities are optimal. But the point is it takes a lot of work, persistence and effort to retrain new nerve connections. I see people improving two to three or more years after injury, in those who apply these techniques. Most people, however, drop out of this early and do not achieve their potential.
Thanks for the question.

John L. Merritt, MD, FACP