Regaining Motor Skills: Stroke Recovery Timeline And Treatment

Stroke can cause weakness and/or paralysis in about 75% of survivors, resulting in difficulties with activities of daily living such as getting dressed, eating, and bathing. Fine motor skills refer to how we use our hands and coordinate the small muscles that control our fingers. These skills can be improved through repetitive practice. Here are three ways to recover hand motion and fine motor skills after a stroke:

1. Repetitive exercises: The brain has the ability to rewire itself after an injury through neuroplasticity, which requires repetitive exercises to build new pathways.

2. Fine motor control exercises: Stroke survivors tend to have fine motor control difficulties due to either an overabundance or lack of muscle mass. Repetitive fine motor control exercises and the utilisation of the affected hand in daily tasks can help to improve fine motor skills.

3. Repetitive task-specific training: To improve coordination in functional tasks that involve reaching and grasping, one must perform repetitive tasks that force the involvement of grasp and transport, with a specific emphasis on planning and executing these components together.

Repetitive exercises

• Therapy ball exercises: These exercises are great for individuals following a stroke, especially those with hand weakness or clenched hands. Some exercises involve squeezing or pinching a therapy ball to strengthen the finger flexors. Therapy balls can also be used to stretch out tightened muscles caused by spasticity.
• Therapy putty exercises: Therapy putty is a hand rehabilitation tool used in occupational therapy. By manipulating the putty, you can give your hand a workout. For example, you can practice finger extension by wrapping the putty around your index finger and then extending it against resistance.
• MusicGlove hand therapy: MusicGlove is a high-tech home therapy system that incorporates gaming and music into hand exercises. It is clinically proven to improve hand function in just 2 weeks by motivating patients to achieve higher repetition.
• Tabletop exercises: You can use various household items like coins, paper clips, silverware, or pens to practice fine motor skills. For example, you can practice gripping a pen, sliding it across the table, and releasing it.
• Rubber band resistance: Rubber bands can be placed around your thumb and index finger, and you push the band apart. This provides "resistance training" for your fingers.

The key to improving fine motor skills after a stroke is to consistently perform high repetitions of targeted exercises. High repetition helps activate neuroplasticity, the mechanism the brain uses to rewire itself and recover.

Fine motor control exercises

• Therapy ball exercises: Squeezing or pinching a therapy ball can help strengthen the finger flexors.
• Therapy putty exercises: Therapy putty can be manipulated in various ways to exercise the hand.
• MusicGlove hand therapy: MusicGlove is a high-tech home therapy system that incorporates gaming and music into hand exercises.
• Tabletop exercises: Using household items like coins, paper clips, silverware, or pens to practice fine motor skills.
• Rubber band resistance: Placing rubber bands around the thumb and index finger and trying to push the band apart.

Repetitive task-specific training

The primary objective of repetitive task-specific training is to determine if it improves upper limb function and reach, as well as lower limb function and balance in adults after a stroke. The secondary objectives are to determine the effect of repetitive task-specific training on secondary outcome measures, including activities of daily living, global motor function, quality of life and health status, and adverse events. It also aims to determine the factors that could influence primary and secondary outcome measures, including the effect of the 'dose' of task practice, type of task, timing of the intervention, and type of intervention.

A review of 33 studies with 1,853 participants found that repetitive task-specific training improves arm and hand function, as well as walking distance and ability. Improvements in arm and leg function were maintained up to six months later. However, there was insufficient evidence to determine the risk of adverse events. Further research is needed to determine the best type of task practice and whether more sustained practice could show better results.

Therapy putty exercises

The recovery of motor function after a stroke is a long and challenging process. The greater part of recovery takes place in the first three months following a stroke, but it is not limited to this time period. Improvement can occur through a combination of spontaneous and learning-dependent processes.

To aid in the recovery process, hand therapy putty can be used to strengthen hand function and improve finger dexterity. Here are some hand therapy putty exercises:

• Power grip: Grab the putty and squeeze it using all five fingers, then relax.
• Hand flexion: Roll the putty into a ball and hold it in your palm. Press all your fingers except the thumb into the putty.
• Finger squeeze: Roll the putty into a ball and squeeze it between your fingers. Try doing it with all your fingers.
• Finger extension: Roll the putty out into a cylindrical shape and wrap it around two fingers to form a donut shape. Then, spread your fingers apart.
• Thumb and finger pinch: Roll the putty into a ball and pinch it using your thumb and fingertips.
• Finger extension and pinch: Straighten your fingers and pinch the putty between your fingers and thumb.
• Finger extension: Roll the putty out into a long cylindrical shape and wrap it around all your fingers to form a circle. Then, spread your fingers apart.
• Finger extension with resistance: Roll the putty out and wrap it around one finger while the finger is bent. Then, extend (straighten) the finger while using the putty to provide resistance.

MusicGlove hand therapy

MusicGlove is a clinically proven neurorehab tool that combines music and gaming to create an immersive rehab experience for stroke patients. It is an FDA-listed neurorehab device that helps improve mobility for hands and fingers. It is used in over 400 rehabilitation hospitals and 10,000 homes.

MusicGlove motivates users to perform hundreds of therapeutic hand and finger exercises while playing an engaging musical game. The user simply puts on the MusicGlove and presses play. They then follow along and make the appropriate pinching movements when each musical note floats down the screen.

MusicGlove is clinically proven to improve hand function in 2 weeks with a total of 6 hours of use. It can lead to functional gains such as opening a door, washing dishes, typing, and using the restroom independently. It also motivates safe, high-intensity movements that initiate neuroplasticity in the brain.

Who is it for?

MusicGlove is intended to help with neurological injuries like strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. To use the device actively and without assistance, the user needs to be able to touch their thumb to at least one of their fingertips or the side of their index finger.

Frequently asked questions