Work with your PT to come up with a home program. I would love to see exactly what this means.
http://www.ptproductsonline.com/news/2012-08-02_01.asp
Bilateral arm training (BAT) has been widely studied, however, the
comparative effects of therapist-based BAT (TBAT) and robot-assisted BAT
(RBAT) are unknown. Researchers in Taiwan performed a study to compare
the efficacy of TBAT, RBAT, and a control treatment (CT) on motor
control, functional performance, and quality of life after a chronic
stroke. The results were published in the August 2012 issue of
Physical Therapy.
Ching-yi Wu, ScD, OTR, from the department of occupational therapy
and graduate institute of behavioral sciences at Chang Gung University,
Taoyuan, Taiwan, led the study of 42 patients with an average age of
54.49 years and an average length of 17.62 months since the onset of
stroke. The patients were randomly assigned to TBAT, RBAT, and CT
groups, with each group receiving treatment for 90 minutes to 105
minutes per session. There were five sessions, held on weekdays for 4
weeks. Outcome measures for the study included kinematic analyses, the
Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), the Motor Activity Log, and the Stroke
Impact Scale (SIS).
According to the results, large and significant effects were found in
the kinematic variables, the distal part of upper-limb motor
impairment, and certain aspects of quality of life in favor of TBAT or
RBAT. The researchers found that the TBAT group demonstrated
significantly better temporal efficiency and smoothness, straighter
trunk motion, and less trunk compensation. The RBAT group reportedly had
increased shoulder flexion. Furthermore, on the FMA, the TBAT group
showed higher distal part scores than the CT group and, on the SIS, the
RBAT group had better strength subscale, physical function domain, and
total scores than the CT group.
The researchers conclude that, compared with CT, TBAT and RBAT
exhibited differential effects on outcome measures. TBAT may improve
temporal efficiency, smoothness, trunk control, and motor impairment of
the distal upper limb, while RBAT may improve shoulder flexion and
quality of life. The authors note that this study recruited patients
with mild spasticity and without cognitive impairments.
