Modern medicine presents a wide range of different workouts that are aimed at the rehabilitation of patients after serious illnesses. For example, restoring movements after a stroke, trauma to the brain or spinal cord, and so on. One of the newest and most progressive methods is the performance of ideomotor exercises. Details about the essence of this technique, as well as examples of training later in the article.
Briefly about the principles of training
The name of ideomotor physical exercises comes from the word idea, which in Greek means "image", and motor, which is translated from Latin as "movement". The essence of these trainings is that when a person imagines some kind of motor act, impulses appear in his brain, similar to those that arise during this act.
Earlier, ideomotor exercises were widely used to developintelligence, cognitive abilities. At the present stage, more and more attention is paid to imaginative thinking for the development of motor functions.
Scientists who developed ideomotor training say that if you imagine any motor act for a long time, you can achieve the same results as with regular repetition of physical exercises. This effect is used not only in physiotherapy exercises for the rehabilitation of patients. It is also used to train athletes. Diligently imagining any motor act for a long time, in the end you can bring it to perfection.
Experiment with a pendulum
To prove to yourself the effectiveness of ideomotor exercises, it is recommended to make a simple experiment. To do this, you need to hang some object on a thread 20 or 30 cm long. For example, a key or a ring. Next, draw a circle on a piece of paper and divide it into 4 sectors. The end of the thread is taken in hand and put the elbow on the table.
If at this stage you imagine how the pendulum moves in a certain direction in relation to the circle, it really begins to move according to your image. Although the hand at this moment is in a completely relaxed state. For example, you imagined a pendulum moving counterclockwise. He really starts moving like this.
Of course, experience is rarely obtained the first time. Some need to stare at the load, some are better at visualizing with their eyes closed.
Psychological characteristics of the body
The effectiveness of ideomotor exercises in exercise therapy largely depends on the individual characteristics of the human psyche. Depending on the way of orientation in space, people are divided into two types:
- motor or propulsion;
- visual.
If for people of the first type, for the implementation of a motor act, the sensations of muscle contraction, a sense of gravity are more important, then for the visual type of people, visual landmarks play an important role. Therefore, the first type of people is recommended to imagine the contraction of their muscles, to try to feel how the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers is replaced during a motor act. It is easier for the second type to use the image of an imaginary little man who makes certain movements. The visual type finds it easier to develop cognitive abilities through imagination.
Exercise rules
At first glance it may seem that ideomotor exercises are very simple. Lie down and imagine walking, moving your arms, and so on. But in this way it is hardly possible to achieve a significant result. It is necessary to represent not only the motor act, but also all stages of its implementation. You need to remember how muscles contract during a certain movement, what sensations appear during this.
For maximum effectiveness of ideomotor training, you need to follow a few rules:
- Present in a comfortable position, preferably witheyes closed.
- Represent the movement in as much detail as possible, fully concentrating your attention on it.
- Represent movement in slow motion.
- If suddenly there is a feeling of muscle twitching or cramps, do not pinch and stop building the image.
- Focus on each muscle group individually. Think about what muscles are being stretched. That is, the image should be supported by a muscular-articular feeling.
If the above rules are successfully followed, after some time the person starts to move involuntarily. This means that strong links are established between programming and installing systems.
Example of Ideomotor Relaxation Training: Preparatory Stage
Make yourself as comfortable as possible, relax as much as possible. Clear your head of all unnecessary thoughts. Drive away anxiety and insecurity. You need to be as confident as possible in the result and be optimistic.
Psychologists recommend paying attention to proper breathing. Breathe deeply, alternate deep breaths and exhalations. After several such cycles of breathing, take the deepest possible breath. Mentally draw in your upper abdomen and exhale. At this moment, a feeling of warmth appears under the breasts. To reinforce this pleasant feeling, repeat the exercise.
Example of ideomotor training: leg and torso relaxation
Now it's time to focus on different parts of the body. Let's start with the legs. Imagine that you first raiselegs up, stretch them out, and then relax by lowering your heels down. In the lower part of the legs (calves, feet) there is a feeling of warmth. Repeat the exercise several times mentally to prolong this feeling a little.
To relax the opposite muscle group, imagine pulling your socks up as far as possible. Imagine the tension of the feet, legs and sharply relax. Legs from heels and knees are wrapped in pleasant warmth.
Now it's time to relax your upper legs and torso. To do this, imagine that you raised your legs high, high, bent them at the hip joint. Pull them mentally forward, and then sharply relax. All legs up to the torso are covered with pleasant warmth, as if you had sank into a hot bath. Repeat the exercise several times.
Example of ideomotor training: arm and neck relaxation
After the lower body is completely relaxed, let's move on to examples of ideomotor exercises to feel light in the arms.
First look inside your arms: shoulders, elbows, forearms, hands, fingers. Feel how each muscle fiber relaxes. Feel the warmth that comes from the fingertips throughout the body. To heighten this feeling, imagine your hands tightly clenched into fists. Hold them like this for several tens of seconds, and then sharply relax your hands. Your hands should feel a slight tingle.
Then imagine stretching your arms as far forward as possible. Imagine how all muscle fibers are stretched, and the body is fed after the hands. After that, sharply relax your hands. Imagine how the fingers on both hands are spread apart. Hold this feeling for a few seconds, then suddenly relax.
To relieve tension in the upper arms and shoulder girdle, imagine how tense all the muscles at the top are. Imagine how you are trying to reach your earlobes with your shoulders. Then quickly lower your shoulders, mentally relaxing each muscle.
Relax your neck, first imagining how all the muscles on it are maximally tense, after which they suddenly become relaxed.
Ideomotor training for rehabilitation
The ideomotor exercise methods for injury or stroke rehabilitation are best applied after the body relaxation exercises presented above. Thus, all muscles will be relaxed. The body is more pliable for image training.
The choice of the type of ideomotor exercise depends on which muscle function is affected. So, in the presence of paresis (weakness) in the right hand, it is necessary to represent this particular muscle. It's better to do it like this:
- Do ideomotor relaxation exercises.
- Next, begin to imagine movements in the hand, starting from the distal calving (fingertips) to the proximal (shoulder girdle).
- You should start with simpler exercises: flexion and extension of the fingers, circular movements in the hand.
- Gradually move on to more complex images: writing, holding a spoon, etc.
Conclusion
Telling what it is- ideomotor exercises, it is worth noting that they are rather an addition to the main physical therapy in the rehabilitation of patients. The best way to speed up the recovery of motor functions is to perform the entire complex of exercise therapy: 14 isotonic, isometric and ideomotor exercises.
