Stroke Mental Practice

CINCINNATI (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- For years, athletes have used mental practice to help them perform on the field. Now, one researcher is conducting a study to see if it also helps stroke patients recover the use of their affected limbs -- even years after a stroke happens.

It takes a lot to keep Bill Harrison away from golf. But two years ago, a stroke did exactly that. "I went to bed Sunday night very healthy. Never had a health problem in my life. Woke up Monday morning, and I had a problem." Harrison now only has about 10-percent usage of his left arm. Even turning pages in a book is difficult.

Drake Rehab Center/University of Cincinnati researcher Stephen Page, Ph.D., is studying whether performing mental exercises can help stroke patients like Harrison recover better.

"When someone imagines themselves doing a physical movement such as throwing a ball or picking up a cup, the muscles fire as if you're actually doing the activity," Page tells Ivanhoe.

Patients listen to a CD and mentally practice the same activities they perform in physical therapy ... again and again.

"It doesn't happen through half an hour of practice," Page says. "It happens through repeated daily practice over and over and over again." His research shows just thinking about an activity causes parts of the brain to activate. In his study, patients who performed the mental exercises saw about a 30-percent improvement in movement -- even those who had a stroke up to 13 years earlier.

Patients are in the study for 6 weeks to 10 weeks and can also perform the mental exercises at home. Page says one of the key findings in his research is that changes in brain activity can still happen many years after a stroke occurs.

"Most of them start out with just a little bit of movement in their wrist. By the end of the study, they're able to grab and they're able to release things, which is a big deal," Page says.

And, if it helps Harrison hold a golf club again, he says it's a really big deal.

The current study is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Dama Kimmon
Public Relations and Communications
University of Cincinnati Medical Center
165 Health Professions Building
3223 Eden Avenue & Albert Sabin Way
Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0550
(513) 558-4519
dama.kimmon@uc.edu
http://www.rehablab.org/