Clicking Through “Forced Use”

Like most people, I’m right-handed.  So when I switched my mouse yesterday to click using my left hand, naturally it felt well, UNnatural.  Using a mouse with your non-dominant hand is about as frustrating as not being able to buy “You’re the Best” for your ipod unless you buy the entire Karate Kid soundtrack or those darned labyrinth games (why can’t I make it to level 8?!).  It also requires unrelenting patience and really good fine motor skills and coordination.  Why did I put myself through this torture?  Two reasons.

1. I’m developing a bad habit of resting my head in my left hand when I’m deep in thought over my paperwork, which is straining my neck.  So, if I’m clicking, I can’t do this.

2. I wanted to see what it would feel like to go through constraint-induced movement therapy

No, this is not an oxymoron.  Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), also called “forced use” is a technique that can be utilized in the rehabilitation of disorders of the brain to facilitate improved function of an affected limb.  Following a stroke, many people suffer from hemiparesis or weakness on one side of the body.  This in turn leaves the person with a hand with limited function and a lasting disability.  With CIMT, the unaffected arm is constrained in some way via strapping or a sling for several hours per day, thus forcing the patient to use the weaker arm and hand for most activities during the day. Because of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form neural connections to accommodate an injury or an environment, the hand is able to get stronger and more functional.  One example of neuroplasticity in people without brain injury is the representation of the sensation in the brain in musicians who are string instrumentalists- with them having more than normal neural connections for the fingers and hand.  For neuroplastic changes to occur, the nervous system must be stimulated frequently, so CIMT might be continuous for several hours per day or even for days on end.  The theory is the more you attempt, think about, and actually use the affected hand and arm, the more neural connections will be made to restore control to a hand or arm that was weakened through a brain injury.

Here’s a video out of California showing what this therapy might look like.

I have to say that switching my mouse is just a small percentage of what someone who actually has to go through CIMT has to experience.  It was incredibly frustrating at times and I can only imagine what this is like with all daily activities, for hours on end for several weeks at a time.  Interestingly, by the end of the day I felt my left hand getting just a little more dexterous with less errors using the mouse than for the first hour.  I wonder if patients feel a tangible improvement even after one day?  Well, at least my “forced use,” however frustrating, did accomplish one therapeutic goal– no lazy headresting.

“Why are more people right-handed?” from Scientific American