Post stroke arm rehabilitation based on a comprehensive assessment and smart goals: a case-study
Abstract
The physiotherapist has a specific role in regaining, learning, and maintenance of physical function after a stroke. Physiotherapist need to develop the skills that will allow them to choose measurement tools based on their knowledge and clinical experiences. The selection of suitable measures to evaluate practice is critical in enabling therapist to planning a safe intervention based on clinical reasoning, to accurately characterize the effectiveness of their intervention and to monitor changes occurring during rehabilitation. The goal is to define the patient’s potential and how we can reach optimal function within the frame of available resources. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time frame (SMART) is a multidisciplinary tool that actively involves and encourage patients and therapists jointly to participate in goal setting with a client centered perspective. This patient’s active involvement in goal setting increases their motivation with regard to their participation. This case study is based on a comprehensive assessment and on the use of SMART. At the core of rehabilitation should be this strong drive for physiotherapists to determine the effectiveness of their treatment by evaluation and measuring patient outcomes and by setting SMART goals.
Keywords
