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A lacunar stroke tends to fly under the radar. It’s smaller than many other stroke types, which is exactly why so many people underestimate what it takes to recover from one. If you or someone you love has been given this diagnosis, you probably already know it doesn’t feel small at all. At CN Rehab in Stourbridge, we help people work through the weakness, coordination problems, and everyday frustrations a lacunar stroke can leave behind.
Rather than affecting a large area of the brain, a lacunar stroke is caused by a blockage in one of the tiny arteries buried deep within it. The result is a small patch of damaged tissue, known as a lacune, usually in areas like the basal ganglia, thalamus, internal capsule or pons. These regions have an outsized job to do when it comes to movement, sensation and coordination, so even a small amount of damage there can have a noticeable effect.
They’re also a lot more common than most people assume. Lacunar strokes account for roughly a quarter of all strokes in the UK, affecting around 35,000 people every year.
Lacunar strokes rarely come out of nowhere. They’re usually the end result of years of wear and tear on the brain’s smallest blood vessels, most often driven by:
Managing these underlying risk factors is a key part of preventing further strokes down the line, alongside rehabilitation.
Symptoms depend entirely on which part of the brain has been affected, so they can look quite different from one person to the next. Keep an eye out for:
Some lacunar strokes cause only mild or fleeting symptoms, which makes them easy to dismiss. Don’t. Any of these signs appearing suddenly needs urgent medical attention, not a wait-and-see approach.
Even though the area of brain damage is small, the knock-on effects can touch almost every part of daily life. People often find themselves dealing with reduced grip strength, an unsteady walk, fatigue that seems out of proportion to the stroke itself, or a general loss of confidence in doing things they used to take for granted. None of that is a reflection of how “serious” the stroke was on paper. It’s simply what recovery looks like, and it responds well to the right support.
This is where dedicated rehabilitation earns its keep. A well-structured recovery programme after a lacunar stroke can help you get back:
Every recovery plan we build at CN Rehab starts with your specific symptoms, not a standard checklist. Our team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and rehab specialists work together to figure out exactly what’s holding you back, whether that’s your grip, your gait or your balance, and build therapy around it.
We back that up with rehabilitation technology you won’t find everywhere, including our Lexo Gait Trainer. It’s a robotic system that recreates natural walking patterns in a safe, controlled setting, with the speed and support adjusted to suit exactly where you’re at in your recovery.
We’re a family-run clinic in the heart of the Midlands, and we’ve built our reputation on genuinely personalised care rather than a one-size-fits-all programme. Our neuro rehabilitation clinic combines hands-on expertise with advanced equipment most patients won’t have access to elsewhere, all in one place.
A lacunar stroke might be small in medical terms, but your recovery deserves the same level of expert care as any other. Our stroke rehabilitation team is ready to build a plan around you.
Get in touch with CN Rehab today to find out how we can help.