Motor Control Part 1 Overview Flashcards
Motor Control is defined as:
ability to regulate or direct the mechanisms essential to movement
The nature of Movement is a result of what 3 interacting factors
Individual
Task
Environment
What is a constraint?
Boundaries that limit the individual. They can be individual, task, or environmental.
Within the individual, movement comes from the interaction of:
Cognition: The reason why we do the movement
Perception: How the pt perceives the motion–>Interpretation of sensory information (somatosensory – how we walk on a sidewalk barefoot in the rain v. hot sun)
Action: How the pt does the movement –>involves how our body systems interact
What are multiple Equivalent Solutions?
Different ways to achieve the same task/goal. Ex: Writing your name with your dominant vs. non dominant hand.
What is the Degrees of Freedom Problem?
Choosing among equivalent solutions, and then coordinating the muscles and joints involved in the movement to achieve the task at hand.
How can you help a patient progress within a specific task?
Categorizing tasks is one way to help patients progress:
• Easy to difficult (start with something they know how to do)
• Discrete to continuous (taking 1 step v. taking a series of steps/stairs)
• Stability to mobility
• Predictable to unpredictable environments
What is an environmental constraint?
Movement that is constrained by the environment the pt is in. Ex:
Inside v. outside
Cold v. hot
“Don’t walk on the grass” signs
What is a regulatory constraint?
Something that modifies the activity/task at hand. It physically makes the patient have to move around it to do their task.
Ex: To get outside, you must go through the door. Perhaps there are stairs too.
What is a non-regulatory constraint?
Environmental factors that influence how we do our movements, but will NOT change how you do it.
Ex: Driving in the fog, seeing an accident, walking if it’s raining out side or not.
