Friday, March 29, 2019

Unique Video Game May Improve Function in Stroke Survivors

Good, then write up a protocol and distribute this to every stroke hospital in the world. OR, figure out a way to get this to everyone of the 10 million yearly stroke survivors. Your choice, DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION.

Do nothing, get fired.

 

Unique Video Game May Improve Function in Stroke Survivors

Damian McNamara
March 27, 2019
Severely impaired stroke survivors may be able to regain function, sometimes after years of immobility, with a novel video game–led training device, preliminary research suggests.
Results from a small randomized control trial showed that the device, known as the myoelectric computer interface (MyoCI), reduced impairment and spasticity and improved stroke survivors' arm function.
"This myoelectric computer interface training enables chronic stroke patients to reduce abnormal coactivation in their arms, leading to some improvement in their ability to reach," study coauthor Marc Slutzky, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, told Medscape Medical News.
The study was published online March 19 in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.

Unique Approach

The investigators developed the MyoCI training method to reduce abnormal muscle pair coactivation. This coactivation, in which two muscles around a joint contract at the same time, contributes to poststroke disability.
In contrast to traditional occupational therapy, which aims to improve specific functional tasks, MyoCI training focuses on reducing the underlying cause of impairment, Slutzky said. The approach "is unique in that it could potentially help patients benefit more from other therapies as well."
The current research builds on a pilot study that demonstrated that MyoCI training of bicep and anterior deltoid muscle pairs cut abnormal coactivation by 99%. The earlier research, however, did not feature a blinded occupational therapist to assess functional outcomes.
For the study, the investigators screened 42 adult chronic stroke survivors who had moderate to severe arm impairment after a period of at least 6 months from stroke onset. Of the participants, 15 were women; the mean period since stroke was 6.5 years.
The candidates each scored from 8 to 40 on the Fugel Meyer Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) assessment.
After exclusions and discontinuations, 32 patients were included in the analysis. Twelve patients were randomly assigned to undergo 60 minutes of isometric therapy; 11 patients were assigned to undergo 90 minutes of isometric therapy; and nine patients completed 90 minutes of unrestrained movements during the training.
The researchers placed wireless electromyography electrodes along the affected arms to measure muscle activity. They selected the muscle pairs with the largest abnormal coactivation disparities, compared to the contralateral healthy arm, for MyoCI training.

Improved Function

The approach significantly reduced impairment in all participants, as reflected by FMA-UE scores, which increased a mean of 3.3 points at 6 weeks and 3.1 points at 10 weeks. These outcomes were statistically significant (P < .0001 at both assessment points) compared to baseline.

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