Analysis of Upper Limbs Target-Reaching Movement and Muscle Co-Activation in Patients with First Time Stroke for Rehabilitation Progress Monitoring

Mariusz Konieczny,Monika Błaszczyszyn,Przemysław Domaszewski,Paweł Pakosz,Aleksandra Kawala-Sterniuk

doi:10.3390/app12031551

Mariusz Konieczny, Monika Błaszczyszyn + Show 3 more

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In this paper, the authors analysed changes occurring during the rehabilitation processes in patients after early stroke based on analysis of their upper limbs’ target-reaching movement and muscle co-activation. Ischemic stroke often results in reduced mobility of the upper extremities and frequently is a cause for long-term disability. The ever-developing technology of 3D movement analysis and miniaturisation of equipment for testing the bioelectrical activity of muscles can help to assess the progress of rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to examine the use of analysis of target-reaching movement indicators and muscle co-activation for diagnosing the rehabilitation process in post-stroke patients. Twenty ischemic stroke patients in the early post-stroke phase (up to three months after the stroke), and twenty healthy subjects (the control group) took part in the experiments. The novel approach of the proposed research proved the usefulness of this approach in the diagnosis of the rehabilitation efficiency of rehabilitation in early post-stroke phase patients.

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One of the main aims of this study was to examine the use of analysis of target-reaching movement indicators and muscle co-activation for diagnosing the rehabilitation process in post-stroke patients
Realizing the difficulties related to the availability of equipment and analysis of results, we hope that in a few years time kinematic analysis will become a common method of diagnosing treatment progress in stroke patients
Investigating the use of analysis of target-reaching movement indicators and muscle coactivation to monitor the rehabilitation process is becoming increasingly important in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients

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Introduction

Stroke is a dangerous medical condition with serious clinical, social and economic consequences. It is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of severe disability among people over the age of 45 [1,2]. And comprehensive post-stroke rehabilitation aims to reduce patients’ mortality in the first month after stroke as well as the degree of disability and life helplessness [3]. Some stroke rehabilitation goals are to minimize the risk of pathological movement patterns, excessive spasticity, or prolonged muscular hypotonia [4]. Serious post-stroke issues include limited upper limb mobility and inaccurate diagnosis of therapy effects due to the lack of precise methods of therapy effectiveness evaluation, persisting the consequences of stroke measured by the stroke impact scale [5]

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