Patent ID: 6878122
Filing Date: 2005-04-12
Classification: A61H

Abstract:
1. A therapeutic method of improving voluntary control of paretic or paralyzed skeletal muscle of a part of the body of a patient suffering from motor dysfunction caused by injury or neurological disorder, comprising: facilitating voluntary activation of motor areas of the patient's brain and target paretic or paralyzed skeletal muscle corresponding to the motor areas by passively moving the part of the body; and imparting localized vibration to skeletal muscle that is functionally antagonistic to the target paretic or paralyzed skeletal muscle to activate sensory areas of the patient's brain by causing a stretching of the proprioceptive receptors of the vibrated skeletal muscle to provide an enhanced perception of body position and movement, the activation of the motor and sensory areas of the patient's brain being coordinated temporally so as to re-establish at least some normal sensory and motor neural connections within the patient's brain and thereby result in sustained improvement of the patient's voluntary control of the target paretic or paralyzed skeletal muscle.