I'm sure your doctor can use this to update your stroke protocols.
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00972/full?
Wolfgang Taube1*,
Michael Lorch
2,
Sibylle Zeiter3 and
Martin Keller1
- 1Department of Medicine, Movement and Sport Science, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
- 2Department of Sport Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 3Department of Medicine, Human Movement and Sport Sciences, Universities of Geneva and Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
For consciously performed motor tasks executed in a defined and
constant way, both motor imagery (MI) and action observation (AO) have
been shown to promote motor learning. It is not known whether these
forms of non-physical training also improve motor actions when these
actions have to be variably applied in an unstable and unpredictable
environment. The present study therefore investigated the influence of
MI balance training (MI_BT) and a balance training combining AO and MI
(AO+MI_BT) on postural control of undisturbed and disturbed upright
stance on unstable ground. As spinal reflex excitability after classical
(i.e., physical) balance training (BT) is generally decreased, we
tested whether non-physical BT also has an impact on spinal reflex
circuits. Thirty-six participants were randomly allocated into an MI_BT
group, in which participants imagined postural exercises, an AO+MI_BT
group, in which participants observed videos of other people performing
balance exercises and imagined being the person in the video, and a
non-active control group (CON). Before and after 4 weeks of non-physical
training, balance performance was assessed on a free-moving platform
during stance without perturbation and during perturbed stance. Soleus
H-reflexes were recorded during stable and unstable stance. The
post-measurement revealed significantly decreased postural sway during
undisturbed and disturbed stance after both MI_BT and AO+MI_BT. Spinal
reflex excitability remained unchanged.
This is the first study showing
that non-physical training (MI_BT and AO+MI_BT)
not only promotes motor
learning of “rigid” postural tasks but also improves performance of
highly variable and unpredictable balance actions. These findings may be
relevant to improve postural control and thus reduce the risk of falls
in temporarily immobilized patients.
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