CIMT – Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy

Constraint-Induced Movement therapy
(CIMT/ CIT)

What is CIMT?

Constraint-Induced Movement therapy (CIMT/ CIT) or CI therapy is a new therapeutic approach to rehabilitation of hand and arm movement after stroke, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injury, multiple sclerosis (MS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). CI therapy consists of a family of treatments that teach the brain to “rewire” itself following a neurological injury. CI therapy is based on research by Prof. Edward Taub and his collaborators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA that showed that patients can learn to improve movement of the weaker part of their bodies.

CIMT is a 2-3 week treatment program that includes restraint of the non-affected hand for most of the waking hours and intensive practice of the affected one for specific hours per day. Practice is focused on everyday activities that are important for the patient and takes place in the clinic and at home. The daily home-based program is tailor made to match each person’s abilities and interests.

Conditions CIMT is suitable for

CIMT is suitable for adults and children that face movement difficulties (mostly) with their one arm and hand. This might have been the result of a central or peripheral neurological damage.

Although CIMT has been primarily designed for hemiplegia (muscle weakness and movement difficulties of the one side of the body), it can also be effective in quadriplegia when the one side of the body is the one that causes the main dysfunction. In general, CIMT is suitable for any case that non-use of the one arm/ hand affects the person’s independency in everyday activities.

The usual conditions that we treat are the following:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the result of damage to the premature brain, either during pregnancy, birth or early infant years. CP can lead to muscle weakness, incoordination of movements and affected muscle tone. CP can affect all four limbs (quadriplegia), lower limbs only (diplegia) or one side of the body (hemiplegia). CIMT is suitable for hemiplegic CP and specific quadriplegic…

Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke)

A stroke usually results in movement difficulties in one side of the body (hemiplegia). Early after the incident, movement of the affected hand is clumsy and inefficient leading to unconscious avoidance of this part of the body and use of the healthy hand throughout most everyday activities. This compensation leads to further functional decrements as the muscles lose more of…

Brachial plexus injury-BPI (Obstetrical Palsy)

The brachial plexus is responsible for sensory and movement innervation of the entire upper limb. Lesions of the brachial plexus can lead to severe functional impairment. Obstetrical Palsy is a special type of BPI that occurs during the birthing process and affects all or part of the infant’s arm and hand. People with BPI or children with Obstetrical Palsy tend…

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, auto-immune condition which means that for some unidentified reason the body triggers an inflammatory response affecting the nerves in the brain and/ or spinal cord. This can affect a person’s movements as the brain is unable to effectively transmit the messages to the nerves supplying the muscles. Movements may be slower and uncoordinated leading to…

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Traumatic brain injury may occur in the area of the brain responsible for controlling movements in the arm and hand, leading to hemiplegia. It is known that people who have arm and hand weakness are more likely to compensate during functional activities by using their stronger arm. The reason for this is that movement of the weaker arm and hand…

How Effective Is CIMT?

CIMT is the only rehabilitative technique that is evidence based to substantially improve arm and hand movement in both adults and children in a 2-3 week period. A large, supporting body of research studies is available, some of which are large sampled randomized controlled trials. The most important finding from research studies and clinical observations is that improvements last for months or years after termination of the CIMT program.

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