The pink one - expand the palm
The green band - different lengths for gripping an pulling - side ways or downwards with a long one hooked over a door. good for shoulder strengthening.
Blue hand device - squeeze together to strengthen wrist and arm
3 Likes
I’ll have to get back to on the pink one. My OT gave it to me this morning.
The blue one (pack of 2) are from Replab Consulting Ltd (Cardiff based), called a hand grip.
3 Likes
Thanks Mike,
I ordered a couple of similar looking things on Amazon; we’ll see what arrives tomorrow
ciao, Roland
2 Likes
Hi Roland @pando,
Stereognosis is the term you were looking for regarding the ability to differenciate objects by touch alone - not there yet myself but have got to the point where I can, more frequently, find my pocket but I just haven’t got a clue what’s in it (total nightmare when my phone is in there on vibrate - missed call after missed call).
One random hand training tool that i picked up, in a charity shop, a couple of months ago is a pair of Baoding balls
I remembered having a set in my late teens and that I’d found them relaxing so I splurged a whole £3 
and now use them when I’m on tele/video calls during work.
Think that they are really helping with dexterity, mainly because I’m too scared to drop them during a work call due to the chiming sound they make.
Take care
Rich C.
4 Likes
Hey Rich, @llareggub,
I also have these Chinese Baoding balls, with pandas on them (apologies to @KGB). They were given to me years ago by a Chinese violin student years before my stroke, and somehow I didn’t think of using them for therapy, but that’s what they’re for!! I was using 3 walnuts, which are slightly smaller, and you juggle them in your hand… a very old school Chinese rehab. therapy… like my Chinese dr. / old school.
thx for post, ciao, hope you’re well, Roland
4 Likes
Had my first mirror therapy session today and I feel very positive about the concept. It appeals from minute one.
This instantly feels like it messes with my mind, in a good way.
The important bit is to concentrate 100% on the mirror and think over and over it’s your weak side.
Who would think looking in a mirror would be, so enjoyable.
Trying items with different textures to add to the effect
6 Likes
Hi Nigel @Nigelglos,
do you have to imagine the horse hoof noise that the real and reflected coconut shell would make too?
Now that would really mess with your mind. 
Take care
Rich C.
4 Likes
Worse than that Rich, I had to imagine was riding the second favourite at Epsom
There is genuinely something about this, it’s so simple but really interesting
4 Likes
Great work, Nige
I started a thread on mirror therapy, pity this post missed being included in it. However, keeping ourselves stimulated is priceless, so I’m glad you’re having fun. Enjoy !
ciao, Roland
3 Likes
That’s exactly the idea…
3 Likes
@Nigelglos to be honest, as soon as I saw the coconut(s) I immediately thought of Monty Python and The Holy Grail 
Glad to hear that this is helping, I’m sure that I’ve got a spare mirror tile somewhere so if I can find it then I’ll give it a go.
One other thing that I have been doing is passing objects, whatever is to hand (pun not intended), between my hands with my eyes closed to compare the difference in touch sensation (and weight perception) whilst trying to tell my brain that what I sense with my right hand is correct. Although knowing my luck I’ll end up training my good hand to be as bad as my bad hand!!
5 Likes
By the way, Nige
Where did you get half a coconut? Homemade?
thx, Roland
3 Likes
Hello Pando,
My physio calls the pink finger stretcher; circular finger stretcher resistance band.
I did find similar idea as - hand grip strengthener or Hand Round Rings And Finger Stretcher Gripping Grip Ball.
See what you think when you google it.
4 Likes
It’s what’s left of a bird feeder Roland. You can get them in places like Poundland. Has a bit of string on it and it’s full of something like suet and seeds.
I have just been using it again.
What I have found really quite quickly is I need to keep my good hand out of my eyeline as much as possible.
I have had maybe 3 occasions so far when I have looked at the image of my right hand and wondered why I can’t move my finger ie I have bought into it fully that the image in the mirror is my left hand.
I wonder if this is a form of self hypnosis. The more I can convince myself it’s my left (weak) hand the better.
My real left hand goes behind the mirror under a shelf which is covered so there is no way I can see it.
I have thought of a couple of things
- record something in advance which i can play. Me speaking to myself. May be something like, Nige, the image you can see is your left hand. No pain when you move it, no tingling today. Much longer of course but along these lines
- for me, do this when my arm really is in pain, see if it changes in any way
- use it when I am tired, just feels like I might be even more open to the suggestion
That’s the idea so far anyway
Cheers
Nige
5 Likes
Following!!! Thanks for this new post! OOPS, I should have said Watching, as that is what I changed to in order to get all the updates on this! Wish we could use the same ‘wording’ across all platforms that perform the same function.
2 Likes
@Nigelglos
I’m glad you have connected with mirror box therapy 
Am I right that your main focus is sensory rather than movement?
I’ve used it twice for movement and I didn’t get on with it at all. But I place the reason for that clearly squarely on lack of explanation by the supervising therapist. The second time it was a PhD student who you would think would explain clearly 
Mirror therapy is widely used in the phantom limb pain treatment. There’s an excellent YouTube of somebody with a missing leg following mirror therapy to reduce their pain. So I would guess there is good precedent for other sensory enhancements?
It has been proved that imagining doing something stimulates the same neurones as actually doing it. If the neurones that used to be there alive are now dead and we imagine something I guess there’s a hypothesis that new neurones will take over the role of being stimulated by imagination? it is important to imagine a rich task and achievement.
As a result of my second attempt to use mirror box of therapy I did actually do a little bit of searching around.
As you say it is important to put your reference hand out of sight behind the mirror. It’s also important (for movement but I can’t vouch for sensory stimulation) and something I found virtually impossible - to as far as possible not give it sense of touch stimulation, so that the willing suspension of disbelief or the imagining of the mirror view mapping to the achievements of the disabled hand is not broken.
I’m glad someone was able to identify coconut shells because I thought you were playing with half a scotch egg !
Ciao
Simon
4 Likes
I think my physio has left me details which are all about movement, well 9 out of 10 are and exactly as you have said, that isn’t really my issue.
If I was designing the mirror box, my weaker left hand would be hidden from view as it is now. The bit I would include would be space so it was possible to do smaller movements without touching anything. The space isn’t quite big enough currently.
My fourth and little finger tend to tingle big time on touch. Yesterday I was sat there fascinated with those fingers on my right hand touching the table, seeing them in the image and not getting any unpleasant sensations. My brain couldn’t quite take it in, it felt all new.
I found I had to tilt my head over quite a lot to avoid seeing my right hand. Every now and again with an exercise I couldn’t help looking at my right hand but the ones where I fully bought into the image being my left were very interesting.
One of the exercises was lining up 6 different sized buttons and later picking them up. That really messed with my mind as well. So still firmly looking at the image, I kept moving my good hand in the wrong direction to pick them up.
Sometimes you get exercises and activities which are a bit of a chore but I am genuinely interested to do this one. Who doesn’t like new things to try.
4 Likes
For the PhD study I kept detailed notes - and we had some discussions about aspects such as the reverse image and the perception of moving in one direction required compensating discounting or recalibrating for the fact that there were the mirror involved - but I don’t remember all the aspects of conversation .
I will have a look and if I think there’s something useful I’ll create a post.
I had quite a large mirror box that the student had self manufactured out of black gaffer tape and an acrylic mirror and some lightweight black plastic cardboard it was about a foot to a side and 2 ft long so I could put my arm in and mostly it was out of sight
I recommend searching YouTube for phantom limb pain & mirror box because you may get pointers that are useful and they won’t be about movement
Ciao
Simon
3 Likes
Yeh I will look into that Simon as that does seem strangely similar. Especially given I am not sure where my left hand side is at times.
Cheers
Nige
3 Likes
You have had a lot of replies and I will read them later. I just add a couple of things I did.
I purchased a touch sensetive keyboard for my computer to replace the old one.
When I go for my morning walk I pick up a twig from the garden and all the time when walking I’m working it to death, tying to break it or at least twirl it through my fingers. If I drop it I can leave it where it fell since it is not rubbish and I’m breaking no law!
It is now nearly ten years since I had my stroke which did its best to wipe out my right side. I now can play guitar and keyboards again (Pretty badly but better than not at all) and walk without a stick.
Regards
Deigh
Deigh
5 Likes