Bi Lateral Stroke Rehabilitation

Even though strokes typically affect only one side of the body, rehabilitation appears to work best when both sides of the body are engaged in it. A study done by Ken Takitama of the University of Tokyo and Masato Okada of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan, and published on June 27, 2012, found that the two-sided approach was especially important in getting functioning back in a weakened arm and hand. Recovery of movement in the upper limb usually takes longer than that of the leg and foot. The researchers wrote that their study suggests that “bimanual movement facilitates the reorganization of a damaged motor cortex because this movement induces rotations in the preferred directions (PDs) of motor cortex neurons . . . Although previous computational studies investigated the unimanual movements of stroke patients, individuals often move their arms bimanually. Bimanual movement is effective for the recovery of partially paralyzed arm movement . . . Rotations of the encoding PDs facilitate cortical reorganization.” It is also important to note that several other studies have shown that, as with any motor skill, practice makes perfect when it comes to stroke rehabilitation. Patients that are more serious with repeating therapeutic movements tend to recover faster than those who are more lax in their exercising. Taking advantage of the most efficient physical therapy solutions is vital to progress for unilateral or bilateral stroke rehabilitation. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR for upper limb and the LEGTUTOR for lower limb paresis are physical therapy products that can speed up the rejuvenation of disabled limbs due to stroke. The TUTORs consist of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice will help to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fuly customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitavely evaluate and report on the treatment progress.The rehabilitation system 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. Currently in use in leading U.S. and European hospitals and clinics the very cost effective TUTORs are available for adults as well as children and are fully certified by the FDA and CE. They can be used in the patient’s home via telerehabilitation. See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for more information.