Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Fri, Sep 26 2008
Mirrors enable stroke victims to improve
It was of little surprise to me that health professionals were able to increase function in stroke patients by using mirrors placed against the patient's vertical midline. A couple of years ago I was having trouble following the advice of my dental hygienist, who recommended brushing my tongue whenever I brushed my teeth. When I would attempt to work beyond the tip of my tongue it would stimulate my gag reflex and make cleaning the tongue thoroughly impossible. Quite by chance one morning I glamced up into the mirror while brushing my tongue and found that keeping my gaze on the mirror greatly repressed that gag reflex. I don't know why this works, unless perhaps the mind is tricked into thinking it sees some other face in the mirror and we focus with detachment on the movement we see on that face, rather than on the sensations we feel inside our own mouths. The mirrors placed on the midline of stroke patients' bodies may distract their brain from their own weaker body side and allow them to mimic the free moving body they see in the mirror.
posted at: 10:01 | category: /Health and Fitness | link to this entry
It was of little surprise to me that health professionals were able to increase function in stroke patients by using mirrors placed against the patient's vertical midline. A couple of years ago I was having trouble following the advice of my dental hygienist, who recommended brushing my tongue whenever I brushed my teeth. When I would attempt to work beyond the tip of my tongue it would stimulate my gag reflex and make cleaning the tongue thoroughly impossible. Quite by chance one morning I glamced up into the mirror while brushing my tongue and found that keeping my gaze on the mirror greatly repressed that gag reflex. I don't know why this works, unless perhaps the mind is tricked into thinking it sees some other face in the mirror and we focus with detachment on the movement we see on that face, rather than on the sensations we feel inside our own mouths. The mirrors placed on the midline of stroke patients' bodies may distract their brain from their own weaker body side and allow them to mimic the free moving body they see in the mirror.
posted at: 10:01 | category: /Health and Fitness | link to this entry
