Motor imagery is the mental simulation of a movement without motor output. In recent years, there has been growing interest towards the application of motor imagery-based training, or "mental practice", in stroke rehabilitation. We have developed a virtual reality prototype (the VR Mirror) to support patients in performing mental practice. The VR Mirror displays a three-dimensional simulation o...

BACKGROUND Although task-specific training is emerging as a viable approach for recovering motor function after stroke, there is little evidence for whether the effects of such training transfer to other functional motor tasks not directly practiced in therapy. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the current study was to test whether training on one motor task in individuals with chronic hemiparesis pos...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this phenomenological study was to understand the meanings of the lived experiences of persons with long-term mental illness at a social working cooperative. METHOD Eighteen participants were interviewed either two or three times while participating in a working cooperative in a community psychosocial rehabilitation program. Data were analyzed and interpreted using ...

[Purpose] The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of stationary cycling exercise on the balance and gait abilities of chronic stroke patients. [Subjects] Thirty-two chronic stroke patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=16) or a control group (n=16). [Methods] All of the subjects received the standard rehabilitation program for 30 minutes, while the experi...

Medical publications contain numerous references to obstacles or disincentives confronting patients who wish to return to work after illness or injury. Current developments of importance to this aspect of medical practice and four recent studies, conducted in Edinburgh, that may contribute to the continuing debate about how best to deal with such problems are reviewed. The studies concern measu...

It was once falsely believed that neurological and functional recovery after stroke occurred only in the first 6 months after lesion. The perception of this "6-month myth" continues to negatively impact the attitudes of patients towards their rehabilitation and on the clinicians and therapists making optimal training plans. Here we briefly outline some evidence that debunked the 6-month myth, w...

OBJECTIVE Detect the main predictive non-motor factors related to independent community ambulation after stroke. Furthermore, we propose a scale to estimate the probability of a stroke patient achieving independent community ambulation after 6 months of rehabilitation. DESIGN AND SETTINGS Prospective cohort. Subjects treated in a rehabilitation center in a large metropolitan area. Independent...

1 Department of Physical Education, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. 2 Associate Professor of Cardiology, Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. 3 Associate Professor, Department of Exercise Physiology, School of Physical Education and Sport Sc...

This paper presents a novel upper extremity motor function rehabilitation system and an assessment system. The rehabilitation system is an active rehabilitation that can be manipulated by patients through a haptic device and an inertia sensor to perform a tracking task in virtual environment with coordination training of bilateral upper extremity. The design of system aims to augment patients’ ...

A recent innovation in rehabilitation is the use of serious gaming to train motor, cognitive, and social abilities. The main advantages of rehabilitation gaming are related to the motivation to engage in rehabilitation, the objectivity of rehabilitation measurements, and the personalization of the treatment. This chapter focuses on the use and effectiveness of serious gaming in rehabilitation a...