Stroke Patient’s Extremity Movements Improved with Arm and Leg Tutors

Debbie Rand, OT, PhD etal of the Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel describes a study of post stroke functionality.
It is known that inpatient rehabilitation may enhance an individual’s functional ability after stroke however it is not known whether these improvements are accompanied by an increase in daily use of the arms and legs. It was determined to compare the values of inpatient rehabilitation with community-dwelling older adults. The results showed that stroke patients demonstrated a significant increase in mobility function, and this was accompanied by an increase in daily walking over the entire day as well as in PT. However, increases in daily walking were found predominantly in patients who were wheelchair users at the time of admission. Despite significant improvements in paretic hand function, no increase in daily use of the paretic or nonparetic hand was found over the entire day or in PT. The conclusions reached were that a disparity between functional recovery and increases in daily use of the upper and lower extremities was found during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.
The newly developed HAND, ARM and LEG TUTORS have shown a remarkable success rate in improving the normal mobility of stroke patients.
The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life.
The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.