The Basics of Mental Movement
Mental Movement is a technique used by many physical and occupational therapists in treating patients who have had strokes or other brain injuries. It goes by various other names, such as mental imagery, guided visualization, or mental practice. It has also been used extensively for improving the sports performance of athletes. A typical session of mental movement involves deep relaxation, then concentration on specific aspects of the movement or task that one is trying to improve. It’s basically a rehearsal of the entire movement in your mind. Why should you participate in mental movement? In order to answer that question, let us give you a brief explanation of how stroke recovery occurs.
How a Stroke Affects the Brain
When part of your brain is damaged by a stroke, you often lose all or a portion of your function in the part of your body that is controlled by that damaged brain tissue. In the past, this was commonly considered a permanent loss. However, over the last century it has been proven time and time again that the brain is plastic. In other words, it has the ability to remodel itself, so that an undamaged portion of the brain can take over the function of the damaged portion. The brain is not as “fixed” as we once thought. It is constantly changing in response to the demands placed upon it. For example, if a person plays the piano frequently, the brain will assign more brain-tissue for the precise control of your fingers on the piano keys. Conversely, if that person stops playing the piano, the brain will re-assign that brain-tissue to a task that is performed more frequently.
Understanding Loss of Function
Imagine that you are walking back and forth along a beach. If you step each time in the same footprints, those footprints will get deeper and deeper. But, if you stop walking along the beach, or just walk a different pathway, eventually the waves and the wind will begin to erase your footprints from the sand. This example also applies to the electrical and chemical signals in your brain that cause movements of your body. Some of the loss of function that people experience after a stroke is due to the fact that they stopped trying to use their arm or leg, because it was so much more difficult than using their stronger arm or leg. This is called “learned non-use,” and is very similar to the waves and wind erasing your footprints on the sand.
How Mental Movement Therapy Helps
In order for your brain to remodel and assign a different area of brain-tissue to control the function of your arm or leg, it needs frequent and repetitive attempts to move that arm or leg. Here’s where the Mental Movement Therapy comes into play. Research has shown that just thinking about performing an arm or hand motion, without moving at all, produces the same type of electrical signals in the brain! This should be exciting news for those of you find it almost impossible to even lift your hand off your lap. With concentrated mental practice of movements, you can start training your brain to move your arm again! Keep in mind that the longer you go without firing those brain signals, or walking in those footprints along the sand, the more those pathways are erased in your brain. So by starting to practice mental movement early, before you even have enough ability to physically practice moving your arm, you will be speeding up your recovery process. Or if you have regained a lot of your movement, but lack precise control over that movement, evidence shows that mentally practiced movement can help with that too.
Interested in Learning More?
If you would like a more in-depth understanding of mental movement and it’s effect on stroke recovery. It’s a 12-minute explanation of how stroke recovery occurs, and what role Mental Movement Therapy can play in that recovery. You can listen to it while you browse the pages of our website, or if you don’t have time for it right now, simply download the audio file to your computer and listen to it at your convenience.