The Best Stroke Rehab Tech of 2025 🧠🦾✨ The Vivistim Paired VNS System is leading the charge as one of the most exciting neurorehabilitation technologies of this year. This system combines Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) with intensive task-specific therapy to drive neuroplasticity and deliver sustained, clinically significant improvements in chronic stroke survivors with moderate-to-severe upper extremity deficits.
The system delivers brief pulses of stimulation to the vagus nerve during a therapist-guided rehabilitation session. This pairing enhances the brain's natural ability to reorganize neural circuits, reinforcing the connections needed for regaining arm and hand function, acting as a powerful reinforcement signal to the brain.
Recent findings published in the last 2025 issue of Stroke validated the long-term effectiveness of the therapy. One year after completing the protocol, survivors maintained significant and clinically meaningful improvements in motor function, activity, participation, and quality of life.
The VNS-REHAB trial demonstrated proven efficacy: that stroke survivors receiving paired VNS therapy had improvements in hand and arm function that were two to three times greater than those who received conventional rehabilitation alone.
For us stroke survivors, who are often told that recovery potential plateaus, the Vivistim system could offer new hope for regaining independence in daily tasks. The tech is safe, well-tolerated, and is gaining significant adoption within comprehensive stroke centres. For clinicians, it represents an evidence-based tool for expanding the therapeutic options available for chronic stroke rehabilitation.
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Trying to cope with a flaccid left or right upper limb after stroke can be incredibly challenging – and it impacts daily life in so many ways. The lack of voluntary movement and feeling affects everything from simple self-care to safety and emotional well-being.
Everyday life challenges with a flaccid arm include simple tasks like putting on a shirt, buttoning, or sipping become difficult or impossible with one hand. Finding comfortable clothes that are easy to manage is a constant struggle. Holding cutlery, cutting food, or even bringing a drink to the mouth can require new adaptive strategies and assistive devices.
Without muscle tone, the arm and shoulder are vulnerable to injury, pain, and subluxation. Proper positioning with pillows, trays, or specialised slings is essential for preventing pain and further damage. The affected arm can feel like a heavy, lifeless weight, especially when walking, which can also affect balance and increase fatigue.
Some survivors experience sensory changes like numbness or a tingling sensation, which can lead to a lack of awareness of the limb's position. This increases the risk of accidental injury, like pinching the skin or getting the arm caught.
We know at ARNI that it's a natural tendency to compensate by relying on the unaffected arm, which can lead to learned non-use of the affected arm over time but Tom, who had flaccidity for a long time himself knows that we've GOT to fight against this at every conscious moment. To help, ARNI stroke rehab system includes a myriad of techniques to target flaccidity decline in action control over reach, grasp and release.
Online login to ARNI video 5 of 7 shows some of these especially, as does vids 4&6.
www.strokesolutions.co.uk/product/successful-stroke-survivor-dvd-volume-5/ 💖
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Studies have concluded that arm cycling is a useful tool for rehabilitation. They found that muscle force and the range of active movement (shoulder flexion, shoulder abduction, elbow flexion and elbow extension) can be increased significantly.
Have you tried an arm cycle?
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#strokerehab #strokerecovery #neuroplasticity #strokerehabilitation #ARNIstrokerehab #neurorehab #strokeexercise #strokearmrehab
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Have you ever tried acupressure?? Please let us know in the comments below!
Research is increasingly shedding light on the therapeutic potential of acupressure: a non-invasive, accessible therapy rooted in traditional Chinese Medicine, as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation for stroke survivors to improve motor function, balance and mood, offering a promising, low-risk option for enhancing recovery.
A study last month in Frontiers of Neurology explored the use of finger acupressure combined with a lower limb rehabilitation machine in 80 stroke patients. The group receiving the combined therapy showed significant improvements in motor function and balance ability. This suggests that acupressure can boost the effects of modern rehabilitation equipment.
Acupressure has also shown promise in addressing the emotional toll of stroke. Research on auricular (ear) acupressure on post-stroke depression (PSD) patients found it significantly reduced depression levels and improved their overall quality of life. The non-pharmacological nature of this intervention has been found to be a key advantage for many survivors.
Research has indicated a potential physiological mechanism, suggesting that acupressure modulates the autonomic nervous system. A placebo-controlled crossover study on stroke survivors found that active acupressure significantly and more rapidly reduced heart rate, indicating a greater relaxation response. This could be particularly beneficial for managing cardiovascular health post-stroke.
These studies suggest that acupressure, particularly when combined with conventional therapy or wearable devices, can be a safe and effective adjunct to stroke rehabilitation. Its non-invasive nature and potential for self-management make it a promising tool for at-home recovery.
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Your own hard work and determination... ...plus a trained ARNI instructor is the MOST POWERFUL WAY (backed by clinical research) to regain that precious gift of strength and mobility.
Call us on 0203 053 0111 or email support@arni.uk.com to find out if there's an instructor who can help you.
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For stroke survivors with persistent foot drop, the challenges of walking safely and efficiently are immense. While surface Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) has been used for years, recent research highlights the significant advantages of implanted FES systems in improving mobility and quality of life.
Instead of using skin-surface electrodes, implanted FES involves a neurostimulator placed under the skin to directly stimulate the peroneal nerve, which controls the muscles responsible for lifting the foot. This offers a more precise and consistent stimulation, and is controlled wirelessly via a foot sensor or other external trigger.
A recent study compared the ActiGait® implanted system to traditional ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) in stroke survivors. The findings were compelling: participants showed significantly higher success rates (Δ4.7%) in avoiding unexpected obstacles on a treadmill with the implanted FES. This benefit was even more pronounced for those with greater motor impairment. The unrestricted ankle mobility with FES is good for navigating real-world, uneven terrain.
While some systematic reviews found surface FES and AFOs to be equivalent in improving walking speed, the superior gait adaptability with implanted FES is a key differentiator. This means a more natural and less compensatory walking pattern.
By providing consistent electrical stimulation, implanted FES facilitates more efficient and repetitive muscle contractions. This intensive, task-specific practice is crucial for promoting neuroplasticity which can lead to a 'therapeutic carry-over' effect even when the stimulator is turned off.
Survivors often prefer FES over AFOs, citing greater comfort, improved cosmesis (appearance), and the ability to wear a wider range of footwear. 💖
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The rowing stroke, when using an indoor rower, is about 65-75% leg work and 25-35% upper body work. Each rowing stroke involves compression and extension of the legs and is working the muscles of the calves, thighs, hamstrings. buttocks and hips, shoulders, back, arms and hands as well as the 'core' abdominal muscles. And because it engages so many muscle groups simultaneously. rowing gets the heart rate up nicely, pumping oxygen-rich blood around the system in readiness for exertion.
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If you like this post then please share it with others. Each time that you share a post, you can directly help other people – as who knows which people in the world might find us and gain, either directly from the charity or simply by being able to copy an ‘innovative and useful’ move/trick of the trade that might help them manage after stroke.
Every time you share, you could directly help someone – as knowledge is power ;)
#strokeexercise #strokerecovery #neurorehab #strokerehabilitation #neuroplasticity #strokesurvivors #strokerehab #ARNIstrokerehab
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Groundbreaking research is confirming the potential of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems to revolutionise stroke rehabilitation. By directly linking a stroke survivor's brain signals to an external device, BCI technology is proving to be a powerful tool for promoting motor recovery, especially for those with severe impairment.
BCIs use a ‘closed-loop’ feedback system, where brain signals reflecting the intention to move trigger a response from a connected device, like a robotic limb or functional electrical stimulation (FES). This process reinforces the neural pathways associated with the intended movement, effectively rewiring the brain to regain function.
Compared to traditional therapy alone, in stroke rehab research studies, BCI training is consistently showing significant superior effects in improving upper-limb motor function. Studies report clinically meaningful gains in Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scores, a key metric for motor recovery.
Meta-analyses show that BCI systems are most effective when combined with other technologies. BCI integrated with FES consistently demonstrates the highest effect sises, likely because it activates both the brain's intention and the muscle's response, providing powerful and rich sensory feedback.
For survivors, BCI training can be incredibly motivating; by providing immediate, tangible feedback on progress, it can make training more engaging and rewarding, addressing the common challenge of low patient adherence. And non-invasive BCI methods, typically using EEG electrodes, are proven to be very safe and well-tolerated, with adverse effects being extremely rare.
BCI represents a significant tech-driven leap forward; turning intention into action and offering new hope for us stroke survivors.🌍💖
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Spasticity involves stiff, tight muscles that result from miscommunication from the brain. When the brain has been impacted by injury, like a stroke, it might not be able to send the right signals to your muscles anymore. As a result, your muscles tighten up as a result of being over-active, with your brain being unable to tell them to relax when they should.
It can help to realize that the problem is not with your muscles — instead, spasticity originates from the brain. And you can help reduce spasticity and restore mobility in your muscles by engaging neuroplasticity.
As you exercise your affected muscles, you encourage the brain to rewire itself and, as a result, spasticity becomes less severe. This is only possible through consistent exercise, though, as the brain needs repetitive stimulation in order to rewire itself.
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If you like this post then please share it with others. Each time that you share a post, you can directly help other people – as who knows which people in the world might find us and gain, either directly from the charity or simply by being able to copy an ‘innovative and useful’ move/trick of the trade that might help them manage after stroke.
Every time you share, you could directly help someone – as knowledge is power 😉
#neuroplasticity #strokerehabilitation #neurorehab #strokerecovery #strokeexercise #arnistrokerehab #strokerehab
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Exercise: Knees-Up. This technique is rather like the seated marching exercise. And we are talking one legged balance here, which also works the hip flexors hard This is also great training for coping with walking up inclines. You should be trying to reach a good height with your knee. Try hard to match the heights on both knees. You may be unable to bring your bad foot even a few inches from the floor, but I promise you that as you work at it, you will get better and better at it.
Find out more about this exercise in The Successful Stroke Survivor book by Tom Balchin.
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