I disagree, my reasoning follows:
1. Most survivors are kicked out of therapy by insurance at the six month mark, Doing therapy on your own is usually the only possibility.
2. Currently only 10% of stroke survivors fully recover, survivors on their own can't do much worse..
3. Doing exercises perfectly is not the fastest way to learn.
a. Rebecca does have a point in that having someone else spot the problems you are doing is great especially since your doctor failed at getting your proprioception recovered.
b. Practicing to perfection is only possible when you have full control of your muscles, For the 30% of stroke survivors with spasticity that is impossible.
c. Until we get objective measurements of our movements, therapists are a poor second for seeing exactly what is being done wrong and which specific muscles are incorrectly moving. I had a PT who demonstrated and said, 'Walk this way'. 'Fuck you, if I could walk that way I wouldn't need you'.
d. This research suggests that; 'A study led by Maurice Smith and colleagues at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) suggests that simple task repetition may not be the most efficient way for the brain to learn a new move'. I took this to means that if errors are encountered as you practice you learn faster because you know what is wrong and what is needed to correct it.
How the body learns to make accurate movements: In motor learning, it's actions -- not intentions -- that count
4. As Dr. Steven Wolf writes, a rehabilitation stroke expert and professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "Stroke patients need to rely more on their own problem solving to regain mobility".5. Peter Levine has two relevant posts on this;
DIY Stroke Recovery
Why a little means a lot
6. By making them public, survivors can be involved in making them better.
You can get a round of out-patient therapy every year if you ask your doctor for a prescription. It is good to use key words like "increase safety while...." Insurance companies do not want to pay for accidents.
ReplyDeleteGood to know, that should be in a protocol delivered to all patients.
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