Their objective was to compare the effects of therapies on arm functional recovery among stroke patients with a high level of function on the affected side.
A total of 24 patients were used. The Bobath group was treated for 1 hour whereas the CIMT group received training for 3 hours per day during 10 consecutive weekdays.
The conclusions they drew from the study were that there was no basic difference between the two methods as far as improving functional ability, speed and quality of movement in the paretic arm among stroke patients with a high level of function. Constraint-induced movement therapy seemed to be a bit more efficient than the Bobath Concept in general.
When it comes to these methods the tool of choice to compliment traditional occupational and physical therapy of the upper limb is the HAND and ARM TUTOR. As opposed to Bobath therapy, functional task practice is incorporated into physical and occupational therapy using the HandTutor and ArmTutor as soon as the patient has the movement ability to do a modified functional task. The Bobath approach to rehabilitation does not allow the patient to practice until the patient has firstly mastered all the components of the functional task in sequence and this may be the reason that modified constraint induced therapy results in better results when the patient has more impaired movement dysfunction. .
The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR devices have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR allow the physical and occupational therapists to report on and evaluate the patient’s functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating intensive exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patient’s movement ability. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
Tele rehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home. All the TUTOR devices are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.
Tutor System Biofeedback Rehabilitation 