Chan W C and Au Yeung S Y
Haven of Hope Hospital, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Int J Phys Med Rehabil
This study investigated on the effectiveness of high-dose-mirror-therapy (HDMT) on the motor recovery of severely impaired paretic upper limb (UL) in patents during sub-acute stroke. It was a prospective assessor-blind randomized-controlled-trial. Patients admitted for first superatentorial stroke for less than a month were included if they aged >35, presented with severe to moderate UL impairment and able to follow instructions. The exclusion criteria were visual impairment, cognitive impairment, aphasia, visual neglect, and history of impaired UL function. Subjects were randomized to HDMT or control (CT) group. In addition to conventional rehabilitation treatment, HDMT group received 2 sessions of 30 minutes MT daily, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. During MT, subjects performed a standardized bilateral ULs exercise (BULE) while watching the reflective image of the non-paretic UL from a mirror placed between the ULs. The CT practiced the same BULE without mirror. The outcomes were Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Wolf Motor Functional Test (WMFT) performed before and after the intervention. Within- and between group differences were analyzed by SPSS version 17 with level of significance at 0.05. Thirty-four subjects (HDMT=15, CT=19) completed the study. There was no difference between HDMT and CT in the demographic characteristics and baseline outcomes. Both HDMT and CT showed within-groups improvement in FMA-UE and WMFT after program but no between-groups difference showed. HDMT was not superior in promoting motor recovery of the severely impaired paretic UL of patients during subacute stroke when compared to CT involving similar intensity of BULE.
Email: ccwcz01@ha.org.hk
