Steven Jax, PhD

Many people who have had a stroke experience difficulty moving one arm.

These problems can significantly affect their quality of life, but treating them is often challenging and many individuals fail to ever recover adequate use of the arm. Improvement for many people who have experienced a stroke is also hindered by limited medical insurance coverage for long-term therapy.

Hope may come for these patients from a technique using mirrors that tricks the brain into thinking it sees both limbs as healthy.

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Suppose you needed help to pull up your pants and fasten your belt.

For most of us, those two tasks come easily. We don’t even think about them. For many stroke patients, however, being able to accomplish those two activities without help would represent a remarkable improvement in the quality of life—a level of independence they never thought they might attain.

Thanks to a glove-like splint invented by Joseph Padova, OTR/L, an occupational therapist at MossRehab, who specializes in stroke rehabilitation and has experience as a clinical specialist for upper limb amputee training—and a self-professed tinkerer—many stroke patients are able to do those two things and more, such as tie their shoelaces, open jars, fold laundry, wrap presents or hold a wallet open to remove cash or credit cards.

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