Stroke, Complication clinical trials

Graded Motor Imagery Training Paradigm on Shoulder Pain

Background: Shoulder pain is the most common pain disorder after stroke and one of the most common complications reduced quality of life. Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) is the most up to date rehabilitation program - based on the latest science and clinical trials - to treat many complex pain, and movement problems. Graded motor imagery is the psychological representation of attention doing movement of a part of body, without actually moving that part, it broken down into three unique stages of treatment techniques: 1. Left/right discrimination: The ability to identify left or right images of their painful body parts. This ability appears to be important for normal recovery from pain. The good news is that the brain is plastic and changeable, if given the right training for long enough. 2. Explicit motor imagery: Essentially thinking about moving without actually moving. Imagined movements can actually be hard work if in pain. This is most likely because 25 percent of the neurons in brain are 'mirror neurons' and start firing when thinking of moving or even watch someone else move. By imagining movements, use similar brain areas as actually move. This is why sports people imagine an activity before they do it. 3. Mirror therapy: If putting person left hand behind a mirror and right hand in front, person can trick brain into believing that the reflection of right hand in the mirror is left. Person is now exercising left hand in the brain, particularly if person start to move right hand. Graded motor imagery training has been suggested as a treatment technique that should be utilized in addressing shoulder pain and movement impairments following stroke.