Treatment of Hemiplegia by Means of Imagination-dependent EMG-triggered muscle stimulation.

J. Danz, S. Gutierrez-Lopez.

Published in Physikalische Medizin, Heft 1, 4. Jahrgang, Feb. 1994.

Summary: The imagination of a movement elevates the electrical activity of paralyzed muscles. By means of a device Automove, this changed activity is used to generate low-frequency pulses which in turn are applied to induce a contraction of the spastic antagonist muscles. In this way the imagination-dependent muscle stimulation - triggered by EMG - circumvents the spastic movement patterns.

The patient becomes able to regain forgotten movements by means of the method described.

During the acute phase after a stroke it was applicable in only one third of our patients (n=40). Another group consisted of out-patients (n=20). In 18 of these a functional improvement of the paralyzed arm was attained after treatment for six months.

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