3-Day Upper Limb Workshop

Evidence-based upper limb retraining after stroke’

This course focuses on helping therapists to minimize upper limb impairments post-stroke and increase engagement in activities.  Workshop notes and content will be based on published research and movement science/motor relearning. Since first being run in 1993, workshop content has been regularly updated to incorporate new evidence.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the 3 days, participants will be able to:

• Name the essential components of normal reach and manipulation.
• Recognize common compensations when observing stroke survivors attempting to grasp objects and explain how to minimize compensatory strategies.
• Name and discuss factors thought to contribute to the development of muscle overactivity, spasticity and stiffness, and intervention strategies to help minimize these secondary problems.
• Explain the relationship and differences between overactivity, spasticity, muscle length changes and stiffness, missing essential components and compensations.
• Plan and conduct an assessment and training session with a stroke survivor using motor learning principles and task-specific practice.
• Discuss factors which affect motor learning and can be modified to enhance learning and increase client practice.
• Use an electrical stimulation machine to stimulate upper limb muscles.

Discuss current evidence for constraint-induced movement therapy, mental practice, mirror box therapy and electrical stimulation for improving upper limb motor recovery

Practical work during the course:

Numbers of participants are restricted because there are clinical sessions involving 8 people with stroke and small groups of 3 therapists.  The course presenters assist these teams of therapists to assess and establish a training program for all 8 people with stroke.

Target audience:

The course is aimed at occupational therapists and physiotherapists who work with stroke survivors (inpatients and community). Therapists working with people affected by traumatic brain injury and other neurological conditions will find the workshop relevant, however, most of the examples provided, and all participant volunteers have had a stroke.  Pediatric therapists may also find the workshop helpful, but all examples used will be adult patient group

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