Rehabilitation effect of innovative mirror therapy on upper limb impairment in stroke patients

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the rehabilitation effect of innovative mirror therapy （MT） on the upper limb function and daily living activity ability of stroke patients. Methods Sixty patients with impaired hand function after stroke were enrolled and divided into the intervention （n = 30） and control groups （n = 30） according to the random number table method. Patients in the intervention group received conventional rehabilitation training combined with innovative MT， and those in the control group received conventional rehabilitation training and conventional MT. Before treatment and 4 weeks after treatment， the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale for the upper limb （FMA-UE）， the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale for the wrist and fingers （FMA-WH）， and the modified Barthel Index （MBI） were evaluated to compare the rehabilitation effects between two groups. Results After 4 weeks of treatment， the FMA-UE， FMA-WH， and MBI scores of patients in two groups were higher than those before treatment （all P < 0.05）. The FMA-UE， FMA-WH， and MBI scores in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group （50.00 （25.75， 57.25） vs.24.00 （9.75， 51.50）， 12.00（1.75， 14.75） vs. 0（0， 12.50）， 24.50（13.00， 28.75） vs.13.00（4.75， 21.00）， all P < 0.05）. The differences before and after treatment of FMA-UE， FMA-WH and MBI scores in the intervention group were all higher than those in the control group （all P < 0.05）. Conclusion Compared with traditional MT， innovative MT yields higher efficacy in improving the upper limb function and enhancing daily living capability of patients with impaired hand function after stroke.

Keywords

• stroke|hand function impairment|rehabilitation|innovative mirror therapy|mirror therapy