Caleb's Story

The Science-y Bit

When someone has hemiplegia they will nearly always have a symptom known as ‘learnt unuse’. This is when a person with hemiplegia will always attempt to achieve a task using their dominant, non-affected arm. This is repeated over and over again until eventually they start to forget how to achieve the task with the hemiplegic arm. ‘Learnt unuse’ causes pathways in the brain that send messages between the affective arm and the brain to stop working. CIMT is a treatment that can help reopen these pathways and combat the effects of ‘learnt unuse’.

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As a 9 year old boy Caleb has experienced ‘learnt unuse’ for a number of years which has resulted in a decrease in strength, flexibility, range of movement and generally a reduction in functionality. The casting process coupled with intensive movement therapy takes advantage of the brain's neuroplasticity; to make new connections. During Caleb’s bespoke CIMT programme, the pathways in Caleb’s brain will have been reorganised, increasing his ability to send messages between his brain and his arm. As a result Caleb was then able to improve the strength, movement and general function of his arm.