Virtual functional tasks and intensive task practice

In the January edition of Neurorehabil Neural Repair http://bit.ly/gEyIUb Dr. Murphy and her group from Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden discuss Kinematic Variables Quantifying Upper-Extremity Performance After Stroke During Reaching and Drinking From a Glass. In the trial, 19 chronic stroke patients (2 groups moderate and mild Fugl Meyer scores) and 19 healthy controls reached for a glass of water, took a sip, and placed it back on a table in a standardized way. The group looked at kinematical parameters describing movement time, velocity, strategy and smoothness, interjoint coordination, and compensatory movements. They conclude that patient movement impairments such as range of movement, total movement time, and peak angular velocity of the elbow during the functional task discriminated between the two stroke groups.

The HandTutor and ArmTutor systems encourage intensive exercise practice through virtual functional tasks. The tasks have been designed to exercise individual and combinations of isolated movement parameters. This impairment oriented training has been shown to improve functional movement ability.