Biofeedback for Rehabilitation Medicine―Application to Biofeedback for Stroke Hemiplegic Patients.

Abstract

  Limitations of conventional medical treatments for neurologic patients are well documented. The characteristics of movement disorders among stroke patients are mainly loss of voluntary control of the upper and lower limbs and trunk, or disability of functional movement. Rehabilitation means the improvement of performance, functional movement ability, with respect to meaningful, practical problems in activities daily Living (ADL). Recently, learning techniques variously described as operant conditioning and biofeedback have been used more extensively. Biofeedback techniques may significantly improve the function of stroke hemiplegic patients with disorders of voluntary movement. Thus, it is certain that an application of biofeedback for any patient with motor disorders will have a good harvest. In this report, the current situation regarding biofeedback intervention, applying the theory of motor learning, as strategies for optimizing motor skills in stroke hemiplegic patients is explained.