6 replies to this topic

[Lillehammer94]

I've been struggling a lot with muscle memory in the muscle retraining process. Because my spasticity has been there all of my life I have no concept of what it is like to have loose muscles, my brain does not know this way of being loose and does not recognize it I am just now learning. With spinal cord injuries does your brain remember what it feels like to move, to walk, and to be unspastic? When you close your eyes, when you dream do can your feel again what it is like to make a certain movement? Is there brain/muscle memory there or has it been disconnected?

[Joed]

Hi Lillehammer94...

I still have muscle/movement memory since my right leg became paralyzed in the summer of '03. I've read somewhere that these memories will eventually extinguish themselves over time, if not accessed on a regular basis, so I intentionally make an excercise of 'remembering' movement/sensations, because I think it plays a big part in any potential recovery of any motor function down the road.

But I've had some level of neuro defect my whole life in that leg....so I've never been able to visualize the strength and coordination that I have always had in my good left leg and transfer that feeling/image and apply it to my right leg. So, like you, my brain has never been programmed to expect these types of movement/sensation from my right leg...there's simply no folder there for that. It'll drive me nuts trying.

Have you tried transferring the sense of 'loose muscle tone' that you already have in other parts of your body to the affected muscles? Just a thought, although I could never accomplish it, it'd still be worth a try. Are there any medications that significantly lower your spasticity? If so, I'd try to implement some memory excercises during the times the medications are keeping your spasticity low.

Years ago, I read an article about this guy who lost the use of his right hand. Part of his therapy was to place both of his hands, palms down, side by side inside a rectangular box which was seperated by a mirror. One hand on one side of the mirror and the other on the other side. He positioned himself so that he could only view his good, left hand AND the reflection of his good, left hand in the mirror (which his brain would perceive it as being his right hand). His therapy was simply to move his good hand while observing the mirrored image. His brain was regularly receiving signals that this part of his body was working, and so his brain expected for there to be pathways available to that extremity. Anyway, it seems that this therapy worked, as I remember he got his fuction back...I find that very thought-provoking. The brain is such a wonder.

Another interesting thing that our brains do: My cousin's husband is an eye surgeon...there are patients of his who will come in for a regular eye exam, and he'll discover that they are totally blind in one eye, yet never knew it! Now how can that be? He explained it much better than I ever could here, but it seems the brain will eventually start to ignore those parts of the body that no longer provide the brain with usable information...the offending part ceases to exist as far as the brain is concerned, therefore, it had never even occurred to the patient that they could not see out of that eye, and so it never occurred to him/her to close one eye and check. That one just blows my mind.

My therapists at Chicago Rehab. encouraged me to visualize moving my right leg, remembering the sensation of movement with all five senses....the feel of air passing over my skin as I walk, the vibration of the ground under my feet at each step, the sound of my own footfalls, etc. I was told to do this throughout the day, and especially each night before falling asleep. I can still remember....that's a big comfort to me, although I rarely dream. I've had one dream since my surgeries in '03, and in it I was walking. In my dream I was very aware that this was an 'event' and so I grabbed the opportunity to enjoy it to the limit....I ran, danced, jumped and took off on a bicycle. I wish I dreamed more often...I think it's the pain medications that prevent it, and the sleep disorder I seem to have acquired through this whole ordeal. But it's good to remember...what it really means, I don't know, but even if it means nothing, it still holds some measure of value to me.

Keep Fighting the Good Fight....

~Joed

[Lillehammer94]

Hi Joed,

I have Cerebral Palsy and have used a Baclofen Pump for a year now for the spasticity. The whole rehab process has thrown me for a bit of a loop because learning to move with less spasticity has been like learning to walk on the moon! It scares me at times because it is so different. Sometimes its easier to relax when I think about it, when I remind myself but I've never thought of trying to "transfer" looseness from one muscle group to another.

Visulisation definaltly helps and I try to do a lot of this when I work. I try to pay attention to all the details when I walk especially even how it sounds. The muscle memory is difficult to grasp and ultimately to keep. My muscles "forget" a lot.

There have been some awesome books written on "brain retraining" of which V.S. Ramachandran's "Phantoms in the Brain" and many of Oliver Sacks' books are favorites of mine and describe a lot of what you were talking about in your post.

The brain is such an interesting organ and its ability to change amazes me.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts,
Gretta

[Joed]

Gretta....

Thanks for the book recommendations...I'm going to try and find them....

About using the five senses to aid us in the memory aspect of movement/walking...if you come up with a good reference for the 'smell' of walking/moving....let me know.

[Lillehammer94]

Oliver Sacks' "A Leg to Stand On" is my personal favorite among the brain books. He discribes his journey of when the doctor becomes the patient. Check your local library as many of these books are quite popular.

Hum... the smell of walking. That's a tough one. Personally I have the most success with my walking in the PT clinic and though I've never really thought about it before sometimes that smell comes to mind when I'm practicing. Do you have such a place where I smell will come to mind?

In the above mentioned book Mr. Sacks descibed that early after is injury he had the most success with walking while listening to the music of French composer Felix Mendelssohn. Interesting that different associations with different things work for different people. I tried Mandelssohn but found that the music of Sergei Rachmaninov worked better for me.

Gretta

[Joed]

The closest I can come to an olfactory association with walking/moving would be the aromas that pass by when we walk. Someone burning leaves, then a family diner, etc.

You've mentioned something that I've been trying to tell my PT for months...play music!! To me, it just seems like a natural adjunct to exercise/therapy. Hey, if cows can produce more milk simply by listening to music, just imagine its impact on the human response.

[Lillehammer94]

I think music is very important in rehab. They always keep the radio on at PT and at home I'm always playing the radio or a CD when I do my exercises. Sometimes I'm not actually listening to the music but its good to have it in the backgroud because it keeps me from thinking too much and allows the more correct movement to just happen. I have a habit of wanting to force the muscles to do the jobs instead of relaxing and letting my body do the work.

Gretta