Mechanotherapy as a methods of physical therapy in people with traumatic damage to the peripheral nerves of the upper limb

Abstract

The article highlights the use of mechanotherapy in traumatic injuries of the peripheral nerves of the upper limb. Damage to the nerves of the upper extremities is one of the frequent and severe types of injuries that can dramatically change the quality and lifestyle of a person, both in everyday household and professional environments. The classification of simulators and mechanotherapeutic devices that are advisable to use for traumatic neuropathies of the upper limb, the principles of motor rehabilitation. It is noted that mechanotherapy can be used to facilitate the execution of any movement (robotic mechanotherapy) and with the goal of training with increasing intensity, aimed at strengthening the motor, cardiovascular and respiratory systems (active mechanotherapy). The characteristic of the main robotic devices that are used to train hand function with the presence of feedback and the use of a gaming or virtual environment is given. It is noted that the modern direction of training rehabilitation is robotic mechanotherapy, the basis of which is the use of robotic devices for training hand function with the presence of feedback and the use of a game or virtual environment.The advantage of robot therapy is a higher quality of training compared to classical mechanotherapy due to the greater accuracy of repetitive cyclic movements, a constant training program, the availability of tools to assess the success of the classes with the possibility of demonstration to the patient. Robotic devices in rehabilitation treatment of the upper limb include MITMANUS, ARM Trainer, mirror-image motion enable (MIME) robot, Armeo, etc. The authors draws attention to the fact that training on modern simulators and devices in no way replace traditional means of physical therapy and should be used in conjunction with other rehabilitation measures in neurological patients.