The past few weeks, our class has been working hard on our literature reviews. For our topic, my group chose to focus on constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) used in stroke patients. CIMT works by using straps or casts to reduce movement in the healthy area of the body so the patient is forced to use the weaken areas and strengthen them. We found that most OTs do not use this kind of therapy because it is not very well known. Most research shows that CIMT is very successful, but because OTs are not educated about it, it is not being utilized. According you to Ching-Yi and Chang, CIMT is  “one of the most empirically supported approaches to rehabilitation of the upper limbs after stroke” (2015). This particular source discussed how successful CIMT is in stroke patients and discussed how it could be used in the future. They suggest someday CIMT can be administered through technology and patients can use it in their home while communicating with a therapist over video or phone call. I think CIMT can change how OTs treat stroke patients and should be better incorporated into the OT education system.

Thanks!
Emily

Ching-Yi Wu, Ku-Chou Chang, Constraint-induced movement therapy translated into practice, The Lancet Neurology, Volume 14, Issue 9, September 2015, Pages 869-871, ISSN 1474-4422, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00183-0.