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Tim Anderson
It's time to go home. The thought of your own food and your own bed leaves you anxiously studying each excruciatingly slow tick of the clock. You're not in great shape, but you have a few positive things working in your favor and, thank goodness, the right side of your body is humming along nicely. Not that it won't be hard, but while you undergo therapy to regain the use of your left arm, you can still work your way through your daily routine with your right. Who ever said it takes two good hands to work a fork? Not so fast. You watch in horror as the doctor hands your wife a white cotton strap, about three inches wide, and says, "Use this to tie down his right arm first thing each morning. It will help him regain the use of his left arm more quickly." What? The stroke must have affected your ears as well. Surely you heard that wrong... Not at all. The therapy is known as Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and it is currently being studied at Emory University and six other medical centers across the country. The theory is relatively straightforward - to improve a non-function extremity it must be utilized to the fullest extent. There is no reasonable call for rest and recovery when the issue is stroke. The call of the day is action, the sooner the better. Emory and the other centers participated in the Extremity Constraint-Induced Therapy Evaluation (EXCITE) clinical trial. The trial involved 222 patients who had suffered strokes, primarily due to ischemia, a blockage of the flow of blood to the brain. One group received standard rehabilitative care and the second group received the constraint-induced, CIMT, therapy. The CIMT therapy involved restraining the productive, non-affected, hand or limb and forcing the patient to utilize the weakened hand to perform a variety of daily tasks. The capabilities of each group were assessed on a standardized Motor Activity Log and included tasks such as turning on a light, opening a drawer, putting on socks, answering the telephone and using a fork or spoon. The results are promising. Patients treated with CIMT exhibited both quantitative and qualitative improvement that was superior to the standardized treatment group. The CIMT group was able to complete tasks at an 11% higher rate than the control group and they completed their tasks, on average, 50% faster. The researchers are pleased with the initial results and believe that further studies are warranted. You've survived your first day at home. As you ponder your circumstances you find a new wave of motivation washing over your weary body. Your wife takes no notice as you study the three-inch strap that secured your good arm to your side for much of the day. You look back and forth from the strap to your wife, then sit back and ponder the day you will once again have full use of both arms. Suddenly, you feel like reading Stephen King. Tim Anderson is a freelance writer who has a special interest in medical topics. Visit his blog at http://medicalmigrant.blogspot.com/ Article Directory: Article Dashboard Other articles from Disease & Illness... |
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