Post Stroke Physical Rehabilitation for the Elderly Population

Michaela M. Pinter and Michael Brainin of the Department for Clinical Neurosciences and Preventive Medicine, Danube University Krems, Austria, in November 2011 published, a study about rehabilitation after stroke in the elderly population.
Since stroke is a leading cause of disability therefore rehabilitation is an integral part of patient care. Most interventions do not target aged patients but there is evidence to promote rehabilitation in stroke units in the elderly community. Till now most research has focused on the effect of interventions on recovery with different forms of impairment and disability. The most promising options for motor recovery of the arm include CIMT, robotic-assisted therapies, fitness training, high-intensity therapy, and repetitive-task training.
However, information about the clinical effect of different strategies of cognitive rehabilitation is scarce. Several trials of rehabilitation practice are underway to test these interventions on the elderly., Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and repetitive task training are included in the rehabilitation therapy afforded by the TUTOR system.
The TUTOR system allows the stroke patient to use his own power to exercise rather than receive a stimulus from an outside robotic source thereby affording a more efficient improvement in mobility. The ARMTUTOR which is used extensively in stroke therapy, has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software.
The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient’s movement ability and report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases., The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better, performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics and are FDA and CE certified. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….