So fucking what? Guidelines, NOT PROTOCOLS. By doing it this way they don't have to specify efficacy. Lazy bastards. But download and look thru this yourself, it does give guidelines for Mirror therapy and motor imagery and sensory training. But nothing for spasticity but botox. Nothing for hand/fingers.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170412/New-app-offers-support-to-clinicians-on-rehabilitation-strategies-for-stroke-patients.aspx
A new, first-of-its-kind app is now available to support clinicians
with decisions on best practice rehabilitation strategies for patients
with arm impairment due to stroke.
The ViaTherapy app, developed through a worldwide
collaboration of stroke rehab researchers co-led by Drs. Mark Bayley,
Medical Director, Brain and Spinal Cord Rehab Program, Toronto Rehab and
Steven Wolf of Emory University, is the result of a five-year process
which aimed to make the Stroke Rehabilitation Guidelines more accessible
to clinicians.
ViaTherapy translates the guidelines to a decision-making
algorithm for occupational therapists and physiotherapists to use with
their patients.
"The right treatment for a patient today may not be the right
treatment for them in three weeks," says Dr. Bayley. "In a sports
setting, a good coach will always progress training as the player gets
better. We tried to capture how a clinician should also evolve therapy
to involve new treatments depending on how far along the patient is in
their recovery."
The app's internal algorithm considers information inputted by the
clinician: how long it has been since the patient's stroke, how severe
their impairment is and whether they have any additional medical
conditions. Based on these factors, it offers a list of suggestions of
which rehabilitation exercises would best promote progress for the
patient, such as assessments of certain movements and electrical
stimulation for motor recovery.
According to Dr. Bayley, earlier research showed that because
clinicians commit a large portion of their workdays to patient care,
they often don't have the capacity to search the literature for
evidence-based therapies, or didn't necessarily have the confidence to
evaluate existing research on their own.
"After
processing vast amounts of rehab literature, we created this app which
would close that gap," says Dr. Steven Wolf, Professor, Department of
Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine. "ViaTherapy will assist clinicians in recalling established therapies and learning about new ones."
From experience using the app personally and with Occupational
Therapy students, Debbie Hebert, Clinic Lead for the Rocket Family Upper
Extremity Clinic at Toronto Rehab, says this is a great tool for
clinicians of all experience levels.
"It saves you a step – instead of looking through the evidence, it
brings you to it right away which allows you to go into the techniques,"
says Hebert, who is also the Practice Lead in Occupational Therapy at
Toronto Rehab.
"It doesn't take the art of physiotherapy or occupational therapy
away in any way," she says. "The choice is still up to the clinician.
This just helps you make sure you're considering all of the treatment
options for your particular patient."
While the app is only available for stroke patients with upper
extremity movement loss, Dr. Bayley sees an opportunity to one day
expand it to various areas of rehabilitation medicine.
"This type of application has the potential to support clinicians who
work with patients with Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injury and many
other conditions that limit movement," he says. "In order to give the
patient the best treatment available, this is how rehabilitation
medicine should present its guidelines."
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