Why a Little Means a Lot

Peter G Levine
The Stroke Recovery Blog

Saturday, February 16, 2013

10°. 

10° is all you need to qualify for constraint induced therapy. Just a tiny bit of movement. Just a little bit of movement in the fingers and a little bit of movement in the wrist. This would be movement that many clinicians would call "nonfunctional" movement. That is, many clinicians make the unfortunate mistake of thinking that a small amount of movement is not helpful. The thinking is, small amounts of movement won't help you live your life, so who cares?

But every bit of neuroscience is very clear about this: a little bit movement can lead to more movement through repetitive and demanding practice. Move as much as you can. It may be ugly, it may be "incorrect," it may be "nonfunctional," and it may be "useless." But this is probably more true: Small amounts of movement may turn into something beautiful, something correct, something functional, and something useful. If someone is telling you that your movement is unimportant, or harmful, or irrelevant, politely don't listen.

2 comments:

Zigmars Vilc February 19, 2013 said...
If you think about it you are right it all comes down to willingness to work. If you are not giving up you can get the movement back.

findingstrengthtostandagain March 20, 2013 said...
Immediately following my stoke I used to dream of playing the piano again. Before I had any movement I used to visualize sitting at the keyboard and playing. I dreamed my hands moved and would hear the sound they produced. Slowly, I moved my fingers again. Years passed and I now type with all ten fingers. I can play slow, simple songs on the piano. I took a lot of time and a great deal of determination. I now have a return of more movement than I had thought would ever be possible.

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