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Stroke nutrition guidelines for optimal health
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2. September 2026 6 minutes
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selection of healthy foods

Nutrition as the key part in health and well-being of stroke survivors

A healthy, balanced diet is a critical part of a healthy lifestyle in general, and especially after a stroke. Healthy foods can drastically reduce the risk of experiencing a stroke in the first place. But even after a stroke, patients can benefit greatly from a nutrition plan and individualized food intake strategies. Selected foods can not only influence recovery, but also create healthy routines for everyday life in the long term.

 

Stroke: the need for reorientation

After a stroke, nutrition plays a key part in the health and well-being of survivors. Following stroke nutrition guidelines improve stroke recovery and establish ongoing healthy habits. Patients who experience a stroke face new nutritional challenges. Some patients struggle to get enough of the food and nutrients they need, which results in malnutrition. One study found that about one-fifth of patients with acute stroke are malnourished when admitted to the hospital. Poor nutrition can reduce a person’s muscle strength, resistance to infection, and ability to heal wounds.

older woman holding spoon with both hands

The effects of stroke on nutrition

A patient’s nutrition may worsen due to stroke-related symptoms and impairments. These could include:

  • Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
  • Low appetite, often caused by medications or side effects
  • Memory issues, such as not recalling the last time they ate
  • Reduced consciousness and time awake
  • Reduced mobility
  • Weakness in the arm or face

 

Proper nutrition after stroke is only one aspect; often patients’ motor skills are also impaired, making eating difficult.

Interdisciplinary approach to stroke therapy

To address these challenges, patients after stroke can benefit from rehabilitation, including a multidisciplinary team consisting of occupational therapists, dieticians, speech therapists, physical therapists and the treating specialist doctor:

  • Physical therapy: support in the acute phase with postural and trunk control, independent sitting and walking, as well as muscle building – all these are important factors that enable independent eating and are essential for functioning digestion
  • Occupational therapy: assistance with arm activity, accompaniment while eating, advice on aids to restore muscles and coordination while consuming food when eating as usual is no longer possible due to paralysis
  • Speech therapy: help with swallowing disorders (dysphagia), with (re)learning speech, etc., to become more confident and coordinated again when eating and drinking
  • Dietology: advice on food and creation of a diet plan or development of dietary guidelines to supply the body with sufficient nutrients

All these disciplines can be used to influence and support nutrition after a stroke to approach therapy in an interdisciplinary and holistic way – of course always in consultation with the treating physician.

Stroke food and nutrition tips

People who have had one stroke are at risk for another stroke in the future. About 25% of the patients in a stroke unit have had a previous stroke. By following stroke nutrition guidelines, stroke survivors can reduce their risk of having another stroke. For example, one study found healthy lifestyle choices, including good nutrition and cardiovascular exercise, can reduce the risk of stroke by approximately 80%.

First, stroke patients should work with medical providers to determine their full range of nutritional needs. For example, a patient with dysphagia should focus on improving safe swallowing. It may also help to know what positions are safest to eat in, the best consistency of foods, and other strategies patients can use to eat and drink safely. These recommendations are unique for every patient.

Some nutrition tips to reduce a person’s risk of stroke

 The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends getting most of your food from plants. Choose whole foods more often than processed foods.

Include low-fat dairy products, fish, legumes, and lean meats

 In addition to plant-based foods, the AHA recommends getting protein from low-fat sources. These foods include non-fat and low-fat dairy, fish, and lean meats such as chicken and turkey. And legumes (beans, lentils, and peas) have protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. Consider choosing lean meats over red meat, which has higher amounts of fat and cholesterol.

Match your energy intake to your energy needs

 Food has calories, which the human body turns into energy. Some stroke patients have higher calorie needs after a stroke. This is because acute illness and recovery can demand more energy. A dietician can help patients understand how many calories they need each day and help them meet that goal.

Nutritionist consulting a patient

Limit foods that increase stroke risk

The AHA recommends limiting foods, including:

  • Alcohol (no more than one drink a day for women, two drinks a day for men)
  • Cholesterol (found in red meats, whole milk, and fried foods)
  • Processed foods (such as cereal, bacon, and bread)
  • Salt (less than 6g a day, which is one level teaspoon)
  • Saturated fat (found in butter, cheese, and ice cream)
  • Sugar

Nutritionists and dieticians can determine individual energy needs after a stroke and create a nutrition plan based on those needs.

 

A lack of proper nutrition can affect a patient’s survival and ability to regain function after stroke. Patients can improve their health and well-being by working with medical professionals and following stroke nutrition guidelines.

Supporting recovery beyond nutrition

Optimal nutrition is an important part of recovery after stroke, but regaining independence often also means rebuilding the physical abilities needed for everyday activities. Alongside nutritional guidance and interdisciplinary care, technology-supported rehabilitation can help patients work on functions such as arm and hand movement, postural control, standing, balance, and walking. Tyromotion devices such as Diego and Amadeo support targeted upper-limb and hand rehabilitation, while Tymo, Elvis, and Lexo provide therapy options for balance, standing, and gait rehabilitation. By combining different therapeutic disciplines and approaches, rehabilitation can support patients in working toward greater function, participation, and independence in daily life.

 

Literature:

Nutrition and Risk of Stroke, 2019.

Risk Factors and Treatment at Recurrent Stroke, 2008.

Nutrition after Stroke, 2000.

AHA Dietary Guidelines, 2000.

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Kinesio taping in neurology as a useful therapy supplement
Blogpost
2. September 2026 7 minutes
Home Archives for julia.perus
Therapist holds orange kinesiology tape in hands

The Kinesio tape and its usefulness in neurological therapy

What was originally known only from the world of professional athletes has now made its way into everyday training and sports and has found a permanent place there. Colorful “plasters” – the so-called tapes – can be applied to all possible places on the body. But what exactly is that all about? How does taping actually work and in what ways can it contribute to neurological therapy? You’ll learn all about it in this blog post.

 

 

What exactly is a K-tape?

This “colorful plaster” is an elastic cotton band with a specially applied acrylic coating that is stuck to the skin. It is called K-tape, kinesiology tape or kinesio tape. In the remainder of the following article, it will be called K-tape. It is stretchable in the longitudinal direction and has similar elasticity to the self-stretch of human muscle. It is also permeable to air and water, which makes it well tolerated. K-tapes are mostly used in four different colors, all of which have the same properties.

 

Classic taping vs. Kinesio tape

The elastic material is what distinguishes K-taping from classic taping. In classic taping, an inelastic material is used because in this case joints are to be stabilized or immobilized. This is intended to restrict freedom of movement. At the beginning of the development of K-tape, the focus was on influencing the muscular system via proprioception – the self-perception of the body in space. However, it was important that the freedom of movement was not restricted. Hence the name Kinesio tape, which is derived from the Greek word kinesis for movement. The application of K-tape to the skin affects the skin receptors in exactly that area. This in turn affects proprioception, muscles, the ligaments, and thus ultimately body functions. From the initial muscle applications, a wide treatment spectrum of K-taping has developed.

 

How does the K-tape work?

There are a great many receptors in our skin layers that detect pressure, touch, traction, cold or heat and transmit these stimuli to the brain. The skin layers also contain blood and lymph vessels as well as nerves embedded in the connective tissue. By applying K-tape to different areas of the body, specific problems can be targeted.

 

There are 4 different application techniques:

  • Muscle applications: This type finds its application in cases of injuries of the muscles, high or low resting tension of the musculature (hyper-/hypotonus) or impaired muscle activation.
  • Ligament applications: This technique supports the ligament structures and is therefore used for injuries and overloads of ligaments and tendons.
  • Correction application: Here we distinguish between functional correction systems and fascia correction systems. A functional application causes a shift in the position of a bone that is in a malposition and helps to correct it. Fascia correction applications assist in loosening fascia and can provide relief from pain.
  • Lymphatic applications: This type is used to help lift the skin and thus promote the drainage of lymphatic fluid.

The application of a K-tape always influences all of the above-mentioned areas at the same time. The shifting of the skin during movement acts on the mechanoreceptors in the skin, thus achieving pain attenuation.

 

When should K-tape not be used?

Tapes should not be used on open wounds, scars that have not yet healed, thin parchment-like skin, or in cases of known allergies to acrylic. Caution is also advised with reactions to silicone.  If blood thinning medications are taken, small hemorrhages may occur in the skin due to the lifting effect of the taping system. Some people also experience itching or wheals. If the tape is not suitable, it can be removed independently at any time. It is much easier to remove if you apply a little oil – such as olive oil or coconut oil – to the tape.

 

How can K-tapes be used in neurorehabilitation?

There is now some research showing that K-tape applications can lead to significant improvements in a wide variety of neurological problems. The use of K-tapes improves the function of the upper and lower extremities in cases of paralysis or weakness, for example after a stroke. Pain that can occur due to subluxation or partial dislocation of the shoulder joint – i.e. an enlargement of the joint space due to a lack of muscle tension when the arm is paralyzed – could thus be significantly reduced. The subluxation itself could also be reduced by applying K-tape. With regard to balance function and walking, a positive effect was also achieved through the additional use of K-tapes. Swelling of the hand after a stroke can also be positively influenced by lymphatic tape application.

 

Examples of K-Taping in neurorehabilitation

Pain reduction in subluxed shoulder joint & reduction of subluxation

A stroke can leave one side of the body paralyzed. Reduced muscle tension and the force of gravity acting on the paralyzed arm in an upright body position often lead to subluxation. This can cause pain due to traction on the ligamentous structures and tendons as well as the joint capsule.

 

Therapist taping patient with kinesiology tape

Attaching a K-tape can …

…increase the tone – i.e. the tension – in the muscles.

…promote the use of the paralyzed side by the constant activation of the skin receptors. When the paralyzed arm can be felt better, injuries can be prevented.

…improve the lymphatic drainage and blood circulation.

…reduce the pain by stimulating the mechanoreceptors in the skin.

 

In the case of subluxation of the shoulder joint, the application of a K-tape can reduce the subluxation itself and the pain (sample image).

Therapist applies tape to a patients foot

Activation of the foot lifting muscles

Often after a stroke, there is an imbalance of muscle tension in the leg. This predominantly manifests as a weakness of those muscles that are responsible for lifting the foot, or dorsiflexors. If there is weakness in the dorsiflexors, the lack of muscle strength means that the forefoot can barely be lifted, if at all, when walking. As a result, there is a risk of the foot getting caught on uneven ground, which greatly increases the risk of tripping and falling. An activating K-tape application on the foot-lifting muscles can have a supporting effect here.

 

Often after a stroke, a weakness in lifting the foot remains, which can be treated supportively with K-tapes (sample image).

Hand edema – reduction by means of lymphatic tape

If the back of the hand is swollen, this is called hand edema – another very common symptom after a stroke. First, lymphatic drainage is impaired, which is often related to the absence of muscle activity in the hand, and therefore hand movement is limited. Second, affected persons do not feel their hand well, so the hand may not be positioned properly or may be pinched without the person noticing. All this can further increase the swelling and intensify the pain.

 

Through the application of a lymphatic K-tape, the…

…lymphatic drainage is improved.

…use of the hand is promoted.

…hand is better seen, perceived, and noticed because of the bright colors.

…worsening of symptoms is counteracted.

 

The use of a K-tape can be a useful therapy supplement for various neurological disorders. The main advantage is that the effect of the K-tape supports the therapy and continues after the therapy as long as it remains on the skin. In this regard, ask your therapist if the application of a K-tape is useful for your impairments.

 

Combining therapeutic approaches in neurorehabilitation

K-taping can be one valuable component of a broader neurorehabilitation approach. Depending on the patient’s individual goals, it can complement active, task-oriented therapy focused on restoring movement, balance, and functional abilities. Technology-supported rehabilitation can further expand these therapy options: Tyromotion devices such as Diego for arm and shoulder rehabilitation, Amadeo for hand rehabilitation, Tymo for balance and postural control, or Lexo for gait training enable targeted and highly repetitive practice across different stages of recovery. By combining different therapeutic approaches and adapting them to each patient’s needs, therapists can create a comprehensive rehabilitation program that supports active participation and progress.

 

Literature:

Efficacy of the application of kinesio tape in patients with stroke

Effectiveness of kinesiology taping on the functions of upper limbs in patients with stroke: a meta-analysis of randomized trial

Kinesio Taping for Balance Function after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Effect of kinesio taping on hemiplegic shoulder pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

https://www.hippocampus.de/media/316/cms_4f97a7c19957f.pdf

Birgit Kumbrink, Springer : K-Taping, Praxishandbuch, Grundlagen – Anlagetechniken – Indikationen

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