UNILATERAL EXERCISE

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

no illustration

This chapter gives a general description of a collective group of exercises and details which are sharing the here described facts; here especially it is the way of practicing when prescribed for a unilateral neuro-muscular deficit.

Contents:

Application of the familiar exercises with the exception that they not will be applied centrally arranged as usual but, for this special case, markedly stressing the one side; sensitivity or motor skill exercises both may be used.

Materials:

Exercise specific.

Procedure:

The target area has been delimitated (see  DIAGNOSTIC EXERCISES) and a respective training plan composed from the exercise catalogue. The arrangement of the exercises will take place in the common scheme primarily observing the sensory function followed by the motor function and finally the habituation.

At the beginning it takes quite some manipulation (which means manually, to use a helping finger) for example for the  CROOKED GRIN which requires an extreme lateral tensioning of all the extrinsic orofacial muscles possessing a sideward pull tendency. In the course of this it may be quite possible that nothing will move at all.

A comment regarding that topic was published by our friends in the study group with their website www.ccmf.de at the 19.08.2006 on latest investigation results regarding Myoneurophysiology published in the JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, Vol. 67. No. 5. May 1992 published by the authors: GUANG YUE AND KELLY J. COLE from the Department of. Exercise Science, The University of Iowa, Iowa City.   In this study the authors are documenting that the mere intensive concentration on a particular movement may strengthen the respective musculature.

In cases like this at the beginning the therapist, later on the patient himself will push the complete part of the face into the movement direction desired.

The training course would, in that case, run in the following sequence:

- Step-by-step-Description:

-1 Perform the exercise with the non-handicapped side with hand-mirror monitoring,

-2 shift to the handicapped side doing a help manipulated action,

-3 shift to the healthy side, action,

-4 problem side, action – and so on.

-Timing: Intermittently there should be meticulous controls to verify every possible improvement. This should be carried out with maximum possible attentiveness and effort. For monitoring purposes a video recording will be of great use.

The manipulation will be cancelled as soon, as a distinct muscle action is brought about.

Characteristics:

Exercise specific.

Remarks:

As already mentioned above, in the starting phase the patients mostly can perform the movement requested only in a minimum range which will hardly be noticeable as an improvement. The therapist should try to be most inventive to accentuate the progress for motivation sake (see CONDUCTOR).

Discussion:

Whether the unilateral deficit originates from a habit (being the comparatively easiest for of a disorder) or exists from a muscle lesion through operation or accident or the neural component being damaged centrally or peripherally (whereas the last disorder might, indeed, be the least curable one) in any case the initial phase will mostly be the most difficult for the patient and thus any motivating help welcome indeed.

Advancement will hardly be discernable with a reading-glass and, as mentioned, to be recorded with the video camera. Therefore dates with therapist and hand-mirror should repeatedly be fixed where even the minimum progress should be brought to light for the patient with the due appreciation. Even existing cases will stop being therapy resistant.

A distinctly unilateral exercise has already been mentioned, the CROOKED GRIN. Further examples for exercises of this sort which may be conducted as unilateral exercises are shown in the following list:

LIST OF SOME EXERCISES

BALLOON                                              Cheek muscles, Buccinator.

WIDE GRIN                                             Buccinator, (Risorius), ‘Belt’- group.

CONDUCTOR                                         Radial tracks of the Orbicularis.

DUCKBILL                                              Peripheral Orbicularis musculature.

HOLD A MATCH                                  Rima Oris closure.

DOGS GROWL                                       Cygomaticus.

CHERRY MOUTH                                  Orbicularis.

PLATELET-HOLDER                             Rima Oris closure.

PEA-SHOOTER                                      Tight lip closure.

CROOKED GRIN                                    Risorius, Cygomaticus.

GIDDY-UP'                                               Retral lateral tongue border.

SPECTRE                                                  Stretching of Mobility restrictions.

HOLD-THE STRAW                              Rima Oris closure.

CHEEKBUMP                                          Tongue laterotrusion.

TEETHRINSING                                      Cheek and Oral Diaphragm Motility, lip closure.

TEETHWIPING                                        Tongue Mobility, Motility.

COUNT-THE-TEETH                              Tongue Orientation, Mobility, tactile sense.

TONGUE STROKING                              Tongue surface sensitivity, tactile reflex.

 TONGUE DABBING                               Tongue sensitivity, Tactile Kinaesthesia

Instructions: