10/08/2026
I’m going to answer your questions before you ask them 😂🤔.
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Hey, I’m Nichole - I’m the stroke rehab specialist behind Dr. Nichole Andriolo, PT, DPT, CSRS and I help PTs get confident treating UE dysfunction post-stroke💪🏼🧠
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1. Do I give this to my patient with shoulder subluxation? - No, I don’t give my patients with severe subluxation this exercise. Likely, these patients also don’t have a strong enough grip to perform the activity anyways. But what if you added NMES🤔
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2. Do you have to start with a dumbbell? Of course not - start with an empty water bottle, a ball, etc. The purpose of this activity is to work multiple things at once and holding something with the paretic upper extremity while performing this balance activity really ups the cognitive and dual-tasking demands🧠
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What else could the patient do instead? A scapular retraction/ depression hold, a shoulder abduction hold, an external rotation hold. Any sort of long endurance hold that can train those stabilizers!
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# NeuroRehab