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Contemporary Motor Learning Approaches for Neurorehabilitation

Contemporary Motor Learning Approaches for Neurorehabilitation
Veronica T. Rowe, PhD, OTR/L, CBIST
October 16, 2015
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From Motor Control to Motor Learning

Without motor control theory, which came mostly from physical therapists, we would not have evolved to a theory that encompasses a lot of OT concepts. I really feel that motor learning theory does speak a lot to what OTs do. As always, we still need more research on this, and the theories continue to evolve daily. But, in general, motor learning theory is what I think of when you think of techniques such as NDT, PNF, Rood, and Brunnstrom.

Motor Learning theory focuses on the ability to regulate our direct mechanisms for movement. It is central nervous system organization, focusing on sensory information, perception, muscles and joints. It also involves a lot of hands-on therapist-to-client interaction. When looking at appropriate motor movements, we focus on motor control on progressing from 

cephalocaudal and from proximodistal. Again, think about NDT, PNF, Rood, and Brunnstrom concepts.

Now, these motor control methods and mechanisms of the theory have not been proven wrong by any means. In fact, they are still used very much today, and can still be very effective. The research has not been there to truly and firmly back it up though. The theory has evolved to include more of a motor learning aspect. Which, like I said, involves more of what OTs do in general. It is the acquisition or modification of movement, which is really essential in occupation and adaptation. It is a move away from looking at the very specific muscle movements to encompassing all of the individual; the occupation or activity that they are doing, their environment, and, most importantly, their ability to adapt to different situations and to different tasks.

Motor Learning

This is a brief definition of motor learning:

... a process associated with practice or experience that leads to relatively permanent changes in the ability to produce skillful responses. -Schmidt

I want to point out and emphasize here that learning requires a permanent change. Something that you see for a brief time or maybe in one treatment session is really a temporary change in performance. Whereas in motor learning, we focus on that ability to learn something and learn it permanently. It is usually produced within a skillful response, not a too-simple or rote task.

 

veronica t rowe

Veronica T. Rowe, PhD, OTR/L, CBIST

Dr. Veronica Rowe has over 24 years of experience as an occupational therapist, she has worked in various areas of adult and geriatric care including acute care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, long term care, burns, hands, and psychiatric care, all areas with an emphasis in neurological disorders.  Prior to her work in academia, she spent her career in St. Louis, Missouri at St. Anthony’s Medical Center; Baltimore, Maryland at Johns Hopkins Bayview; and Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University.  She served as a project coordinator for numerous research studies at Emory University involving rehabilitation therapies for the neurologically compromised upper extremity, including constraint induced movement therapy, mental imagery, and use of robotic devices.  She has collaborated on several research studies involving task-specific training and neurorehabilitation assessment measures with the University of Southern California.  She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, and has presented nationally, internationally, and virtually for a wide variety of audiences.  She is also a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer. She has over 13 years of experience teaching in occupational therapy at the University of Central Arkansas and Georgia State University. She currently teaches and mentors research and neurological rehabilitation courses in occupational therapy.

 



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