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Toward peaceful coexistence of adaptive central strategies and medical professionals
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 February 2010
Abstract
We start with a number of philosophical and theoretical issues related to motor control, proceed through a spectrum of problems related to the role of adaptive changes in the central nervous system (CNS) in response to a primary disorder, and end with tentative practical recommendations. We consider the hierarchical and dynamic approaches to motor control not as incompatible alternatives but as ways of approaching two equally important issues, those of control and coordination. Professionals working in the area of physical therapy and rehabilitation should make use of the adaptive abilities of the CNS, identify goals, provide tools, and allow the CNS to develop optimal strategies. Therapists should intervene if they suspect that the CNS settles down in a local rather than a global optimum because of such factors as pain or the lack of a long-term predictive ability. Adaptive changes within the CNS may be important not only in pathologies but also in cases of specialized training, normal growth, and normal ageing.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996