Four programs of treatment for patients with motor control problems caused by brain damage were developed in the mid-1950’s and early 1960’s :

1.Rood Approach
2.Neurodevelopmental (Bobath) Treatment
3.Movement Therapy of Brunnstrom
4.Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Approach of Kabat and Voss.

What’s common between them: the importance of sensation to the control of movement and the need for repetition for learning.

What’s the difference then: The differences have to do with whether conscious attention should be directed toward the movement itself (Brunnstrom and PNF) or only toward the goal of the movement (Rood and Bobath), whether spinal and brainstem reflexes should (Brunnstrom) or should not (Bobath) be used to elicit movement when the patient cannot otherwise move, and whether redevelopment of motor control should be sought in an ontogenetic sequence (PNF and Rood) or in a proximodistal sequence (Bobath and Brunnstrom).

However, none of the approaches addresses methods of developing skilled movement.(which are now addressed by MRP),since they emphasized the fact that when movement get’s ‘normalized’ skilled movements will occur automatically.

Some of the assumptions of these approaches:(The basis).

  1. Peripheral motor control theory.
  2. Central motor control theory.
  3. Recapitulate ontogeny.