The Possibility of Recovery of Motor Function in Long-Standing Hemiplegia

It is well known that in the hemiplegias due to cerebral lesions, there are usually early recoveries of function for different segments when the other acute symptoms of hemorrhage, or embolism, or trauma, subside. The trunk muscles are affected the least in a hemiplegia, and there may be a complete return of voluntary control of them shortly after the cerebral accident. The legs also frequently recover to a great extent, and although in many cases the distal segments may show evident signs of functional impairment, the larger muscles for the thigh and knee movements may be used with a surprising degree of ease and force. Voluntary control of the arm movements is less likely to return; but if there is a return it is, as with the leg, better for the proximal than for the distal elements. These recoveries ensue within a few weeks or months and are normal. They