This article from Advance for Long-Term Care Management explains how a stroke affects the body and what steps therapists can take to help a stroke patient recover.

After a stroke there’s a period in which the brain is at a vulnerable crossroads. Stroke causes a portion of the brain to die. This area is called an infarct. The neurons surrounding the area of infarct aren’t dead, however. Instead, they’re “stunned” because of the furious metabolic activity that’s going on as the body comes to grips with the injury.

This area of stunned neurons is called the penumbra. An analogy can be made to muscles that have been bruised. The muscles will one day be able to move like they always did, but while it’s bruised it remains swollen, stiff and difficult to move. Much of the swelling is caused by physiological systems that attempt to repair the damaged muscle. In the short-term the muscle is swollen and stiff, but as the swelling around the muscle resolves, movement becomes easier.

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