Saturdays News - Device for the Leg and Device for the Hand

YouTube: Device for the Leg and Device for the Hand.
For the Leg:



The NESS L300 is an advanced foot drop system designed to use mild stimulation to lift your foot to help you walk more safely and easily. If the NESS L300 is right for you, it may be easier to walk on flat ground, up and down stairs, as well as on uneven surfaces. This light-weight device is designed to fit just below your knee and to be put on and taken off with one hand. Use of the NESS L300 may eliminate the need to wear a rigid, heavy orthosis.

See also Bioness LiveOn ; they have details of the product and short but useful video.


For the Hand:




The Bioness H200 Hand Rehabilitation System is being used on stroke survivor's arm to cause his hand to open and grasp various type of object. Hopefully it will stimulate the brain to create new pathways to the nerves in his hand and fingers.  (Comments from SSTattler Admin -- H200 the first device to use the thumb -- very useful!).

See also Bioness LiveOn ; they have details of the product and short but useful video.

Saturday Comics - February 25th / 2012

For Better and For Worse  by Lynn Johnston /2006-10-18

(This a serious topic of stroke but with a very nice cartoons. It is all about Grandpa Jim had a stroke and 88 further cartoon "strips" that happened to Grandpa Jim [8 of the series stroke of 88 -- every week])

Click Me!

 "He has trouble speaking but ... "   

Dilbert               by Scott Adams / 2012-02-21

(Pick The Best Of The Week for your good humour)

Click Me!

"I found the Higgs Boson ... !"

Garfield            by Jim Davis / 2012-02-24
(Pick The Best Of The Week for your good humour)

Click Me!

"Here is your roll, sir."

Pickles                 by Brian Crane / 2012-02-20

(Pick The Best Of The Week for your good humour)

Click Me!

"Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground."

* I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons.  It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very low.  Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using  GoComics.com and Dilbert.com.

Saturday News Articles - February 25th / 2012

Smartphone Training Helps People With Memory Impairment Regain Independence.

Toronto, Canada – The treatment for moderate-to-severe memory impairment could one day include a prescription for a smartphone.

Baycrest has published the strongest evidence yet that a smartphone training program, theory-driven and specifically designed for individuals with memory impairment, can result in "robust" improvements in day-to-day functioning, and boost independence and confidence levels.

The promising results appear online this week, ahead of print publication, in the international journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ....

Read the full article EurekAlert!

SRAE Meeting Feb 27th at 6:30 PM

Leg Cramps

Leg cramps are a common problem. In patients living at home, half (50%) of the people reported they had leg cramps (365 patients, 65 years of age and over, mean 78.5 years).  Leg cramps were more common for women (56%) than men (40%). Leg cramps were strongly associated with peripheral vascular disease and arthritis (Abdulla, Jones, & Pearce, 1999).

     Although people reported that leg cramps occurred anytime of over the 24 hour day, cramps were most prevalent at night (62%). About 20% of people reported that they had suffered from leg cramps for over 10 years.  Leg cramps may be associated with a wide range of underlying conditions, many of which are treatable (Monder, Wu, Thorpy, 2010). Surprisingly, only (40%) of leg cramps sufferers told their doctor; and of these, just over half received treatment (53%).  In this study, most people who received treatment said that treatment prescribed by their doctor was effective.

     Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about your leg cramps -- immediately if there is redness, bruising, or swelling.

If there is no obvious cause, your doctor or nurse practitioner may recommend:

• walking, stretching, and massage -- Calf stretching performed daily may prevent nighttime cramps from occurring--One uncontrolled study suggested that regularly stretching calves of legs done  three times per day was highly effective in curing nighttime cramps. However, amore recent controlled study showed that calf stretching was not an effective method.  So, if you try it and it doesn’t work, all you lost was your time.
• raising the head of the bed or raising your feet on pillows is sometimes recommended  although neither of these methods has been evaluated formally.

Your doctor or nurse practitioner may also recommend pharmacologic treatments.  There are many that have been studied for night-time leg cramps:  quinine, magnesium, calcium channel blockers, sympathetic inhibitors, vitamin E, vitamin B complex, and antiepileptic medications (Monder, Wu, Thorpy, 2010).
  
You need to discuss any medication use — including vitamins, herbal remedies, and over-the-counter medications with your doctor or nurse practitioner.

Link to most recent article on leg cramps:

• Monderer, R.S., Wu, W.P., Thorpy, M.J. (2010).  Nocturnal Leg Cramps. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports ,  10 (1), 53-9.
• Additional reference: Abdulla, A.J., Jones, P.W., & Pearce, V.R.  (1999). Leg cramps in the elderly: prevalence, drug and disease associations. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 53 (7), 494-6.

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