USING THE WEAK SIDE
As a triple Stroke survivor I learned first hand the challanges and frustrations that face every aspect of your life. For those who doubt that statement, try to put on your socks and shoes one handed. The world around us was built by and for people with 2 working arms and legs, we can either adapt are lives to incorporate are short comings or Refuse to be helpless.
I started early on to rehab my left hand and arm, once I regained hand movement using sponge balls,hand weights and stretch bands, I lacked coordination, hand speed and strength. My challange was ways to use the hand in a way that would develop these capacities, I tried everything imaginable, and focused on a few.
When I was in Rehab they would give us modeling clay to work the weak side, the reality is clay is very stiff till your body heat warms it up, and in my case my left I hand had very little heat, it was frustrating . When I returnrd to my home after 10 months of institutional living I very simply put 3 cups of flour and 1 cup of water in a bowl and mixed it with both hand making sure the weak side duplicated the strong side, after a doe ball is formed move it to a floured surface,cutting board or counter top and I kneaded the doe ( Video) doe is unique in that the longer you knead it the stiffer it gets, so you get the benefit of ever increasingly increase in resistance and you stop when tired.
To develop dexterity I used a simpler approach, I started washing dishes by hand, we shut down are dish washer,every knife, fork and spoon, plate, bowl and cup got massaged with a sponge and rinsed. It was awkward at first and after a while it became natural and second nature.
I am sure they you can find many opportunity’s in your daily life to incorporate your weak side into your activities, combing your hair, shaving, eating, ect. It takes time, my progress was slow but I stayed with it, and today my left hand is capable and 90% as strong as the right.
The primary goal of recovering lost functions is to teach your brain how use the affected appendages, all to often we treat rehab as a physical process, its actually a learning process. Changing your approach to recovery may be the path to the recovery your looking for.
If you find these blogs helpful or you have a challange that I may have faced or maybe a helpfull tip, use the comments section of this website. Your information is strickly confidential.