[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate whether motor imagery training has a positive influence on upper extremity performance in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to one of the following two groups: motor imagery (n = 12) or control (n = 12). Over the course of 4 weeks, the motor imagery group participated in 30 minutes of motor ...

EACH YEAR, MORE THAN 730 000 Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke, with resulting direct and indirect health care costs totaling $35 billion and $21.8 billion, respectively. Up to 85% of the approximately 566 000 stroke survivors experience hemiparesis, resulting in impairment of an upper extremity immediately after stroke, and between 55% and 75% of survivors continue to experience u...

OBJECTIVE To test if functional electrical stimulation (FES) can enhance the recovery of upper extremity function during early stroke rehabilitation. METHODS Open-label block-randomized trial, begun during inpatient rehabilitation and continued at the patients' home. Patients were assigned to either FES combined with task-specific upper extremity rehabilitation (n = 7) or a control group that...

The foot is an engineering marvel that allows the body to perform many physical activities over a wide variety of terrain with remarkable efficiency. The functions of the foot and the lower extremity are biomechanically integrated; thus normal lower-extremity function requires normal foot function and vice versa. Because the subtalar joint is the main pedal joint allowing the triplanar translat...