Hello again, Just thought I would share that Adriana just finished something called constraint-induced therapy. She has weakness in her right arm so her OT suggested it. She wore a cuff on her left arm from her shoulder to her wrist. She could not bend at the elbow. Then they used a wide velcro strap to cover her hand. She was able to swing her arm at the shoulder and use it to catch herself. She could also crawl with it on but only pulling with her right arm. They suggested it not only to strengthen her right arm but also help rewire her brain. She has 4 therapists and 2 where against the restraining and 2 where for it. We thought it was worth a try. She wore it for 23 hours a day, and for 2 weeks strait. The hour off could be a broken hour which was nice. She handled it great. I think it was harder on my husband and I. A year ago she did not use her right arm at all. Now she picks things up with her right hand. She also turns pages of a book with it. They plan on doing this once every 6 months for 2 weeks sessions at a time. We have seen improvements but it is slow going. You can read an article about the research being done at Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or the article is called Modified constraint-induced therapy ties patients down to bring them up. Feb. 2006. I have also heard there is a place in Texas devoted just to this kind of therapy. Has anyone else tried it? Did you have any success? Thanks Danielle

After hearing about this from Danielle I did a bit of Googling and this type of therapy got great results in test groups.

http://www.healthandage.com/public/health-center/10/article-home/3170/Exercising-Restraint-in-Stroke-Therapy.html

http://www.healthywomen.org/resources/womenshealthinthenews/dbhealthnews/restrainttherapyimprovesfunctionforstrokepatients

I think Luca would be a prime candidate. The question is: can Nicky and I do this to her?

Danielle, any chance of a few pics of the cuff so I can understand it a bit better? I think you can attach photo's to PM's or you can email them to: themullys@mweb.co.za

Thanks
Mark (Luca's Dad)

Danielle wrote on Jun 11^th, 2009 at 7:59pm:

Has anyone else tried it? Did you have any success?

Hi Danielle,

Constraint-induced therapy has been discussed here several times in the past. Here is a post from about five years ago that you may find helpful.

http://www.moyamoya.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1099453100

My continued prayers for Adriana.

Mar

Mark, I will send you some pictures soon, but please be patient. Our digital camera is not working at the moment. Now I have a great excuse to buy a new one. Plus Adriana's birthday is soon so I'll need a camera for that. For the therapy some people do use a cast but we used the cuff I was telling you about. We have seen good small changes and for that reason we will stick to that. I do think a cast would be a true restraint though. I did have to ajust the cuff a number of times a day. It was something the OT wanted to try and we were never offered a cast. You can find some pictures if you google constraint induced therapy - Images. They don't have any pictures of what we used. It has been a month since Adriana tried the therapy, she can now pick up small toys off the floor. During feeding she never used her right hand and now she ties to put a cookie in her mouth with it. She also touches her hair. She is even picking up a block with just her right and can put it in a container. That blows my mind that she can actually pick up a release with her right. My husband and I were very reluctant to try this approach and yes it was tough. She would get very frustrated with herself, but now I can't wait to do it again. I mean that. It is incredible.  Talk to ya soon!!!! Danielle