What is CIMT and Why do it?
CIMT stands for Constraint Induced Movement Therapy.It is a form of rehabilitation therapy that improves upper extremity function in stroke and other central nervous system damage victims by increasing the use of their affected upper limb.
The cast is absolutely pain free and it doesn't bother her at all. This is a restrictive play to make Kyra use her affect side more.
Imagine Brain as a big maze. Due to CP some of the paths in the maze have been destroyed. Now due to that, Kyra is unable to use that particular path and reach her affected side (lefty).
With CIMT we are trying to make Kyra’s brain find alternative routes to go to that path so she can re-learn how to use lefty again, hence called rewiring the brain.How super human right?
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Advantages to CIMT
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Overall greater improvement in function than traditional treatment.
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Highly researched and highly credible treatment approach.
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There are brain activity and observed gray matter reorganization in primary motor, cortices and hippocampus.
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Increase social participation.
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Decrease in medical cost over lifetime.
Evidence
Several researchers have demonstrated that activation and stimulation significantly affect neural activity in the sensory and motor cortex. In young children, there are ongoing structural changes in the corticospinal system directed to hand function. These observed changes are activity dependent. In baby-CIMT, It can be benefit from advantage of the great plasticity of the young brain and recent knowledge of how to provide training with the aim of influencing future development of hand function.Now I wrote this based on the information I gathered, don't quote me to this. But this is pretty accurate. Once we started doing CIMT when Kyra was as young as 14 months old, we saw huge success with it.
Some Pictures of Kyra Doing CIMT
