Need for improved stroke rehabilitation therapy practices.

A stroke is an abrupt disruption in the blood supply to the brain, often occurring as a consequence of blockage of arteries that lead up to the brain. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India. As a matter of alarm, the incident of stroke is increasing in India, with approximately 100 rural residents and 300 urban residents being affected for every lakh of the population. Present methodologies of recovery highlight constrained motion exercises as the most effective way of recovery but pose the following issues: The need of physiotherapists is extremely crucial for this method to prove to be of some use. Even if the accessibility of physiotherapists is kept aside, there exists a certain shortfall i.e. flexing in spastic patients requires a lot of strength and doing it repetitively is very tiring for the end-user. Currently stroke rehabilitation devices are available, however nothing has yet been engineered for fingers and wrists and even physiotherapists have no aid in this area. Spastic patients do not exercise basic independence to be able to hold things or perform everyday tasks without the help of family members or a physiotherapist. The sessions with a therapist require a lot of mental and physical courage to continue and recover completely from the stroke. The condition of the affected makes it tough for them to lead normal lives and stagnates their personal, physical and mental growth. Read less