Quadriceps activation!!!!!1

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Hello again,
How often and how much? I work for an organisation lead by very qualified neuroscientists and we do intensive rehab courses for strokepatients and their carers. We do strengthening, balancing, coordination, modified CI-therapy for hand and legs, vibration training (excellent for stretching contractures, for increasing proprioceptive input in legs without sensation and for muscleactivation) a s o. Our patients have chronic stroke (6 months - 7 years sofar) and they receive 60 hours training in 3 weeks (4 hrs/day, mon-sat). I have worked within the National Health System in Sweden for over 30 years and with this organisation since 2003. We have very good results of a kind that I never experienced in traditional (Swedish) strokerehabilitation and I feel very eager to spred the word! I apologize if I sometimes become a bit too enthusiastic...but I just wish all physios could experience the difference with this approach. Everything we do is, as far as we can see, evidencebased or at least described in the literature. We do not create wonders but this amount of training really brings out all resources that the patient has.
We are right now making plans for publishing our results.
What I really wanted to say was - work them hard! If there are no heart problems or other health problems - work them hard! They will make progress and they like it! It is not dangerous to get out of breath or have sore muscles and spasticity will not increase permanently even if it does during the physical effort. Unfortunately, we cannot give them enough training within the National Health System but if we get used to and accept the way things are and stop trying to break way for new knowledge - nothing will change. And wouldn´t that be sad...

About vibration - check out "whole body vibration" on the PubMed to begin with.

Thank you for allowing me to take part in this discussion!

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About intensive training for stroke at Swan Rehab in USA.

Abstract Publication 17401 - PT 2008 June 11, 2008 June 14, 2007

Regards,
Bo