The problem with the whole "neuroplasticity is the bees knees" perspective on stroke recovery is that there is a feeling that bad practice will lead to bad movement. That bad movement, so the thinking goes, will lead to bad neuroplastic rewiring. But to pay a therapist to keep the survivor "moving correctly" is prohibitive. It takes too much therapist time, too much money and is unproven. Enter robotics.
The idea is to get a machine that makes the job easier and the treatment more effective. You still need a therapist there...for now. But the end game in most of these technologies is: "Go home with it, do a lot of hard work. Come back and I'll get all the credit."
Here is my colleague, Valerie Hill Hermann, demonstrating new robotic technology, the MYOMO, with a stroke survivor. Val has a new American Heart Association grant to study the device.
Most of my work in research has been on the arm and hand of stroke survivors. It is a joke among therapist; occupational therapist only deal with the upper extremity, and physical therapist only deal with the lower extremity. Of course this is a generalization that's not entirely accurate. Still, I have a special affinity for occupational therapists and their work.
It was a pleasant surprise to have a review from ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners do a review of Stronger After Stroke.
