MOTOR CONTROL THERAPY
After undergoing brain surgery, having a stroke or living with an illness like cerebral palsy, patients usually need physical therapy to learn or re-learn basic skills. Now, a special program works for kids when standard therapy doesn't.
 |
Transcript of the story
|
|
Healthy For Life Extra
extra information about the story |
|
For More Information
where to go for help |
Kendall Vorpahl goes to class like other 7-year-olds, but instead of learning new things, he's re-learning the skills he lost.
Last year, Kendall developed a progressive and extremely severe form of epilepsy.
Jessica Vorpahl
Kendall's mom
"I felt like I was living in a nightmare every day."
He went from being a happy, normal kid to not being able to walk, talk or eat and having up to 130 seizures a day.
Jessica Vorpahl
"You're just terrified, absolutely horrified to watch this little body seizing away 24 hours a day, and you're just completely helpless."
Then Kendall underwent life-saving brain surgery. Now, he's making improvements every day. And he's also getting a special kind of physical therapy.
Today, Kendall practices standing tall. When he works his muscles correctly, his favorite movie stays on. When he doesn't, it turns off.
Jeffrey Bolek, PhD
Psychologist
The Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation
Cleveland, OH
"They can concentrate on what they're doing with the body because all they have to remember is I need to use my muscles to activate the video."
The program combines the use of up to 12 different muscle groups at once. About 85 percent of kids who don't improve with standard physical therapy do with this.
Jeffrey Bolek, PhD
"We have had children that were able to go from basically being in a wheelchair to be able to walk."
Since his surgery, Kendall hasn't had a single seizure and is ready to get back to being a normal kid.
This program is only available at the Cleveland Clinic. Doctor Bolek has been using the program in kids but says it could be used for adults and athletes recovering from an injury as well.
BACKGROUND: Jeffrey Bolek, Ph.D., a psychologist out of The Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation, has developed a motor control program. Computer programs and electronic equipment reward children for mastering correct muscle motor patterns -- with a movie of their choice staying on when they use their muscles correctly and turning off when they don't. The main purpose of the program is to help children regain motor skills that they've either lost, or they may have just been born with the lack of ability to use their limbs or their legs. It's a program designed to help children who haven't responded to traditional physical therapy. It is especially helpful for kids who have lost the ability to either sit correctly, stand, walk, or feed themselves -- from either head injuries, stroke, brain surgery or a life-long illness like cerebral palsy.
UNIQUE PROGRAM: The program bears some similarities to biofeedback programs, but there are some marked differences. The program incorporates the use of up to 12 muscle sites at once instead of just one of two, so kids learn how to correctly use a group of muscles, instead of isolating one muscle at a time. Also, they don't have to just stare at a computer screen and try to figure out which lines on the monitor correspond to what muscle movements and determine how to make the lines go up or down. Instead, kids are conditioned to learn proper muscle usage through a rewards system. Dr. Bolek explains: "You can imagine if you had 12 lines on the screen, and you were trying to figure out how to make the right pattern, it would be impossible. We may point to the lines to help them understand -- this particular line needs to go up; this particular line needs to go down -- but overall, what we try to do is help them understand what it is they need to do with their body and internalize that. For example, it is what you did when you learned to find your balance riding a bike." Another key component of this program is applying what patients learn at the clinic outside of the clinic as well. This is through a "verbal cue." A patient's parent, for example, may instruct his child at home: "Practice standing tall," and the child remembers what he learned in rehab and practices at home
SUCCESS: The success rate of this program for kids who haven't been successful in standard physical therapy is about 85 percent. Dr. Bolek is now beginning a study where he will assign motor impaired children to groups, some of whom will undergo traditional therapy, and the others who will go through the motor control program. This will be the first randomized study to compare progress in the two types of therapy. In the past, researchers have instead kept records of children who have not succeeded in traditional therapy who came into the motor control program and then assessed their success, providing experimental data.
ADD HELP: Dr. Bolek says his motor control program is especially good for kids with ADD because, "they're able to zero in on this one skill that they need to do. They need to think about what they need to do to turn on the television." The program's site is isolated from the rest of the hospital and quiet, so it helps cut down on distractions and allow these kids to concentrate.
Natalie Guzzo
Public and Media Relations
Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44195
guzzon@ccf.org
(216) 444-5703
Copyright © 2006 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
|
|
|
|
REVERSING SCLERODERMA
A risky treatment could be the answer for patients with serious forms of this disease. 
COLONOSCOPY-NOT JUST FOR COLON CANCER
A virtual colonoscopy detects a wide range of diseases outside the colon, which could save lives. June is national Scleroderma Awareness Month!
CLEARER MRI
A new invention helps doctors get clearer images of people who can't lie still.
HELP FOR BLOOD PRESSURE
An investigational device could help patients with this condition stay healthier.
SEEING THE HEART IN 3D
Researchers in the Netherlands are using virtual reality to see the heart like never before.
PANCREATIC CANCER VACCINE
A vaccine increases survival for patients with this deadly form of cancer.
NEW HELP FOR ALCOHOLICS
People who suffer from addiction may have a new option in the form of a pill.
TREATING URINARY INCONTINENCE
A sling helps women with this common problem find relief.
ROBOT REHAB FOR STROKE
A new robot is helping stroke patients recover without a therapist.
STEM CELLS HEAL HEARTS
Donor stem cells may be the answer for patients who suffer a heart attack.
BREATHING WITH EMPHYSEMA
A new, nonsurgical procedure could help patients breathe more easily.
DOPPLER PREDICTS STROKE
The same technology used to forecast a storm is helping doctors understand strokes and migraines.
BETTER BYPASS SURGERY
Cutting-edge technology allows doctors to fix a coronary bypass operation while the patient is still in surgery.
BETTER KIDNEY TRANSPLANT TREATMENT
A new treatment could reduce the risk of rejection within six months of a transplant.
WRAPPING RADIATION AROUND TUMORS
New technology allows doctors to target tumors with better precision.
CUTTING-EDGE SURGERY EDUCATION
Huge monitors and microscopic cameras are making it easier for surgeons to teach residents complicated procedures.
LUNG CANCER VACCINE
A vaccine under study offers hope for some patients who are diagnosed with this deadly cancer.
EASIER COLON CANCER TEST
A blood test may be the future in screening for colon cancer.
STEM CELLS FIGHT LUPUS
Using a patient's own stem cells could provide a cure for this devastating disease.
NEW SINUS RELIEF WITH A BALLOON
A new technique pushes sinus blockages out of the way and results in less pain.
HUNTINGTON'S HELP
A drug already approved in Europe and Canada could offer hope to patients who are plagued by this disease.
INHALED CHEMO
A new twist on standard chemotherapy offers less side effects and better precision.
STRENGTHENING BRITTLE BONES
A drug to treat osteoporosis is helping patients with a disease that weakens their bones.
BIRD FLU: BE PREPARED
Find out what you can do to prepare for the flu that experts think will hit the states in the coming months.
|
Send email to news@wchstv.com for information or comments concerning WCHS-TV Eyewitness News.
