Product Spotlight: #1 Walker for Parkinson’s Disease
What is the best walker for Parkinson's disease (PD)? Maybe you are not there yet. Maybe you are hesitant to even approach the idea of a walker. Well, I have you covered. After nearly 20 years of working with people living with PD, I know how you might be feeling. The...
When to start Parkinson’s disease medication?
Due to the neurodegenerative nature of Parkinson's disease, there is no cure. While many medications claim to "treat" the disease, none actually reverse the effects of the disease. Parkinson's Disease Medication The main family of drugs useful for treating the motor...
Best Method for Stretching Spastic Muscles
Stretching spastic muscles is critical after a stroke. Spasticity is a movement disorder that causes an involuntary muscle contraction in response to lengthening. This occurs if there has been damage to the brain or spinal cord. This can make movement retraining and...
What is spasticity?
Spasticity is an involuntary muscle contraction caused by a hyperexcitability of the reflex arc that occurs due to damage to the brain or the spinal cord. Huh?? Yeah, agreed. Ok, I get it, keep it simple. Did you ever wonder why your leg seems to spaz out for no...
Does Mirror Therapy Improve Arm Function?
Mirror therapy (MT) is one of several effective treatments used to regain arm movement after a stroke. Mirror Therapy Background MT was originally designed to treat phantom limb pain with amputees. The way it worked was that it gave the person the sensation that they...
Mental Practice Helps Movement Recovery after a Stroke
Mental practice is a way of relearning movement (motor functions) by creating an image in your mind of the body performing that movement without the body actually moving. This method of enhancing performance and/or improving a motor skill has been used for decades in...
The Best Treatment for Shoulder Subluxation
A shoulder subluxation is a result of severe shoulder instability after a stroke. This can cause pain and have a negative impact on regaining active shoulder movement. What is a stroke shoulder subluxation? A shoulder subluxation is when the arm bone (humerus)...
What is Neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to form new connections (rewire) after a brain injury or a stroke. Recovery of motor (movement) function after a stroke involves relearning motor skills using this idea of neuroplasticity. Furthermore, this idea of brain...
Best Foot Drop Braces
Drop foot is when the muscles that lift the foot are not working properly. Hence, leading to the name, drop foot or foot drop. Needless, to say this can lead to difficulty walking. When I think of someone who has drop foot, my number one concern is the risk of...
Best Tools for Eating after Stroke
Being able to eat and prepare food without help after a stroke can help someone both physically and mentally. That being said, this might be challenging if you only have full use of one hand. Here are my top four picks that might help someone to start the process of...