2/10/25

Let’s talk rewiring

As of this past Thursday, 2/6, I finished my Ipsihand clinical trial. Towards the end of the trial, my hand and brain have seemed to begin reconnecting. It is so so damn cool to watch neuroplasticity take place in my own body.

In my early recovery, when my parents and I were first learning about tone and spasticity, I not so lovingly referred to my hand as a “toddler that refuses to learn” As in it never got looser after I wore my braces that were supposed to eradicate my spasticity.

~ “After a stroke, muscles may become stiff, tighten up and resist stretching. This is called spasticity. Spasticity relates to muscle tone. Tone is the natural tension, or contraction, in a muscle that resists stretching. Stroke may cause an abnormal increase in muscle tone, leading to spasticity.” (-https://www.stroke.org/en/help-and-support/resource-library/lets-talk-about-stroke/spasticity#:~:text=After%20a%20stroke%2C%20muscles%20may,muscle%20tone%2C%20leading%20to%20spasticity.) I have a LOT of spasticity due to where my stroke was in my brain. It’s tough to make a muscle with a lot of tightness move with control. But the flip side of that is that a body part with NO spasticity or tone ends up like a limp noodle. Also no function. ~

But what I wasn’t doing after wearing the braces, was trying to move my relaxed fingers. Now that they’ve been taught with the Ipsihand to battle the tightness, I have been trying to do this, and THEY’RE MOVING!!! My hand has even started to voluntarily open/relax even when it seems to be too tight to do so.

I’m learning to have more control over this new movement. I’ve also been advised to pair it with every day, functional movements. Such as: using my tight left thumb to hold a duffel steady while I zip it up, putting chapstick on with my left hand, washing my face, etc. All of this is trying to reteach and remind my brain like “Hey, remember when we used to do this?” Because it hasn’t been THAT long since I was a two handed person, and I think I can get it back with some concentrated habit forming. That’s all neuroplasticity is, really.

I also plan to start going to the gym again with my dad, because with my membership, I can bring a guest. I haven’t been going very consistently since I started my job, and I said I would when I felt I had my feet under me. Not on New Year’s Day, not on February 1, when it felt right to me. Thanks for reading ☺MK