BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The incidence of stroke and the demand for stroke rehabilitation services continues to increase, and it has been proposed that age be used in combination with severity of stroke to determine type of rehabilitation. It is important to identify the impact of age on functional outcome before embracing a system that limits access to rehabilitation on the basis of age. METHO...

The science of motor control provides dynamic and intriguing study for practical problems of concern to neurorehabilitation specialists. Two areas of present interest and controversy in stroke rehabilitation are addressed in this issue of NeuroRehabilitation. Section I of this jou'rnal will highlight current issues on the controversies of strengthening spastic muscle and forced-limb usage as th...

Many stroke survivors, despite improvements in mortality and morbidity, remain dependent on others for everyday activities. People with stroke need access to effective specialist multidisciplinary rehabilitation services that are organised and integrated within the whole system of health and social care. They also commonly come under the care of generalists in various clinical contexts, includi...

Objectives:  Stroke is a major event in one's life, and patients will inevitably require the use of coping strategies in order to try to reestablish acceptable life equilibrium. Due to the extensive role that nurses can be active members in the patient's rehabilitation plan, the Mauk model is a model that focuses on stroke patients. For each stage of this model,  Mauk has developed ap...

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...

[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...

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...

BACKGROUND Fidelity to the treatment protocol is key to successful trials but often problematic. This article reports the staff's views on delivering a complex rehabilitation intervention: patient-led therapy during inpatient stroke care. METHODS An exploratory qualitative study using focus groups with staff involved in a multicenter (n = 12) feasibility trial of patient-led therapy (the MAES...

BACKGROUND Rehabilitation can improve physical activity after stroke. However, patients may be more prone to falls and fractures because of balance and gait deficits. Few reports have studied the relationship between rehabilitation and subsequent fractures after ischemic stroke. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether post-stroke rehabilitation affects fracture risk. METHODS We conducted a populat...