We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Motor imagery training speeds up gait recovery and decreases the risk of falls in patients submitted to total knee arthroplasty.
- Authors
Zapparoli, Laura; Sacheli, Lucia Maria; Seghezzi, Silvia; Preti, Matteo; Stucovitz, Elena; Negrini, Francesco; Pelosi, Catia; Ursino, Nicola; Banfi, Giuseppe; Paulesu, Eraldo
- Abstract
With Motor imagery (MI), movements are mentally rehearsed without overt actions; this procedure has been adopted in motor rehabilitation, primarily in brain-damaged patients. Here we rather tested the clinical potentials of MI in purely orthopaedic patients who, by definition, should maximally benefit of mental exercises because of their intact brain. To this end we studied the recovery of gait after total knee arthroplasty and evaluated whether MI combined with physiotherapy could speed up the recovery of gait and even limit the occurrence of future falls. We studied 48 patients at the beginning and by the end of the post-surgery residential rehabilitation program: half of them completed a specific MI training supported by computerized visual stimulation (experimental group); the other half performed a non-motoric cognitive training (control group). All patients also had standard physiotherapy. By the end of the rehabilitation, the experimental group showed a better recovery of gait and active knee flexion-extension movements, and less pain. The number of falls or near falls after surgery was significantly lower in the experimental group. These results show that MI can improve gait abilities and limit future falls in orthopaedic patients, without collateral risks and with limited costs.
- Subjects
MOTOR imagery (Cognition); REHABILITATION; PHYSICAL therapy; COGNITIVE training; MENTAL training; TOTAL knee replacement; RISK factors of falling down
- Publication
Scientific Reports, 2020, Vol 10, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2045-2322
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41598-020-65820-5