Before stroke Sally was able to make a hot drink safely, easily and quickly because she had smooth, effortless, coordinated movement, good grip strength and no sensory loss.
Normal efficient movement can be affected by the following factors after a stroke:
Sensation:
- Touch, hot and cold
- Pain, proprioception (ability to be aware of position, motion and equilibrium within the body)
- Stereognosis (the ability to recognise an object by touch alone)
- One and two point sensory discrimination (ability to recognise that two nearby objects touching the skin are truly two distinct points, not one)
Tone:
- Too high (Hypertonus)
- Too low (Hypotonus)
- Changes in tone due to position
- Associated reactions (abnormal reflex activities which may occur in the absence of voluntary movements)
- Limb position
Patterns of movement:
- No movement
- Some selective movement
- Ataxia (lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements)
- Apraxia ( difficulty with the motor planning to perform tasks or movements when asked, provided that the request or command is understood and he/she is willing to perform the task)
Page last reviewed: 01 May 2020
