Abstract:
This article explores contemporary rehabilitation within New Zealand to maximize the control of fine finger function after stroke within the context of a case study of a 66-year-old male with activity and participation limitations in the arm following a stroke. A brief review of mechanisms of motor control relating to the case study, including corticomotoneuronal and corticospinal tract, recovery of function and neuroplastic changes, sensory deficits, learned nonuse, coactivation and motor unit recruitment, grip selection, and increased tone, is provided. Following this is a discussion of the evidence to support the assessment and treatment techniques chosen. The rationale and evidence for a change in practice then are examined.
