Top Stroke Exercise for Arm Strength

NeuroRehab Team
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

Arm and HandExercise Aids

A stroke occurs when the blood vessels in your brain bleed due to a rupture. It can also happen when the blood supply to your brain is blocked. When blood supply is blocked, or blood vessels rupture, blood, and oxygen do not reach the brain tissues, and without oxygen, these cells and tissues become damaged and start dying within a short time.

Stroke symptoms are manifested in the body parts controlled by the part of the brain that is damaged. Studies show that men are more likely to experience stroke at a younger age than women, but women are ultimately more likely to succumb to stroke than men. If a stroke affects your brain’s left side, it is the right side of your body that will experience problems and vice versa.

There are three main categories of stroke;

• Ischemic where arteries that supply the brain with blood are blocked or become narrow.
• Transient Ischemic Attack where the flow of blood from the brain is temporarily blocked.
• Hemorrhagic stroke where the artery breaks or leaks blood in the brain

There are many symptoms like paralysis, slurry speech, numbness, especially on one side of the body, and confusion. People who have suffered a stroke often demonstrate impaired weakness in the arm by lack of coordination. Their muscles experience fatigue, numbness, and decreased movement precision. They also cannot grasp objects.

SaeboGlide Arm Exercise Device

SaeboGlide is a versatile piece of equipment you can use to exercise your affected arm. You can use it independently at home without necessarily having to wait for your therapy sessions. You can use SaeboGlide in a sitting, standing, or lying position. It also comes with a comprehensive manual to explain the various recommended exercise programs you can undertake to ensure a quick path to recovery and when to advance from the exercise of your current level of function. This exercise equipment is beneficial to those who have suffered a stroke, hemiparesis, and traumatic brain injury.

It has five features that help you in your exercises;

• Top grip (E) that you grasp with your uninvolved hand to stabilize the pole as you exercise.
• Sleeves (D) that you grasp with the involved hand during the exercise.
• O-rings (C) which are used to set your target goals.
• Pole (B) positioned at varying angles to increase or decrease resistance.
• Bottom rubber tip A) that makes the end of the pole stable against a surface during exercise.

The SaeboGlide, like any other equipment, must be kept clean; it should be cleaned monthly. You are advised not to use chemicals or abrasives because they would decrease its performance; instead, use a damp cloth. While using the glides, it is recommended that your hands be clean to avoid leaving residues on the pole. Leaving it out in the sun or extreme heat decreases the performance by adversely affecting the plastic.

In addition to the SaeboGlide, there is a hand strap designed especially for patients with decreased ability to grip objects. These straps are attached to the SaeboGlide, which we refer to as the SaeboGlide Plus version.

The strap is attached to the SaeboGlide to enable the patient to perform their exercises effectively in the diagram. Some precautions come with using both the SaeboGlide and the Plus version. For the Plus version, you are not to use it for more than 15-20 minutes at a time if your hand is visibly swollen. Also, people with sensitive skin can use cotton wristbands beneath the strap to avoid irritation. If you feel pain while exercising with either version, seek help from a health professional before continuing to use it. Those with allergies to rubber or plastic are advised against using the SaeboGlide. It should also not be left with unsupervised children. Caregivers can assist those with severe spasticity and cognitive impairment. Lastly, this equipment should not be used in a monoplace hyperbaric chamber.

How does it work?

It works using gliding sleeves; after you place your hands on the gliding sleeve, you can perform various controlled upper extremity exercises appropriate for your strength level because of the distal support. You can track your progress throughout the exercise program. This exercise program is divided into three categories, and before you start using the SaeboGlide, it is essential to determine your starting point. It is designed to allow you to progress from one program to another, depending on your strength level.

After knowing your starting point, you are recommended to effectively exercise at your current level and finally advance to the next exercise program. The SaeboGlide exercise program follows a sequence that starts with stretches, bilateral exercises, and level 1 or level 2 programs. The stretching program is recommended before using the SaeboGlide to maximize results. These stretches can as well be done several times during the day. There are six recommended stretches in the SaeboGlide exercise program; wrist and finger extension, radial and ulnar deviation, supination, elbow extension, shoulder flexion, and external rotation. The SaeboGlide manual provides in-depth explanations on exercises on each program with images to illustrate.

Bilateral exercises improve and maintain flexibility, increase strength, and endurance. Regardless of your strength level, you can perform these exercises. They include chest press, shoulder flexion, and elbow extension. In these exercises, you will use the SaeboGlide.

Level 1 exercises are for people with low or fair strength. You can only effectively progress to level 2 once you are done with all the activities in level 1. Six exercises begin with horizontal adduction while lying, shoulder extension, passive shoulder flexion, elbow extension, passive elbow flexion, and wrist flexion. Level 2 is for those who have good strength and can perform horizontal adduction while sitting, shoulder flexion, scaption, external rotation, elbow extension, forearm supination, and wrist flexion.

SaeboGlide is equipment that helps you quick recovery and provides you with extensive information on how to use it through recommended activities.

For more information on the SaeboGlide, you can visit the Exercise section or click here to order.