Deans' stroke musings: Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy in Training Upper Limb Hemiparesis after Stroke

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy in Training Upper Limb Hemiparesis after Stroke

My god, this research already proved it, Yavuzer, Selles, Sezer, Sutbeyaz, Bussmann, Köseoğlu,
Atay, & Stam (2008). Why repeat a meta-analysis?
Participants: 40 inpatients within 12 months post-stroke
 Purpose: Evaluate effects of mirror therapy for motor
recovery, spasticity, and upper extremity function
 Intervention: 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks in
conjunction with conventional therapy
 Results: Hand function improved at end of intervention as
well as 6 month follow-up; spasticity was not changed
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http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1569186112000472?via=sd

Abstract

Summary

Objective/Background

This study aims to review the current evidence on effectiveness of mirror therapy (MT) in improving motor function of the hemiplegic upper limb (UL) among the adult stroke population in the last 12 years.

Methods

A systematic review of studies published in English from 1999 to 2011, retrieved from four electronic databases MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Sage Online, and ScienceDirect, was performed. Only articles focusing on the effects of MT to train UL motor function were included. The methodological quality of the studies was appraised based on the design and Physiotherapy Evidence Database Scale.

Results

Of the 1,129 articles, nine (six randomised controlled trials and three case reports) were reviewed. The majority of the studies were heterogeneous in design. The review indicated that the strength of current evidence for the use of MT with the stroke population is moderate and seemed to benefit participants with subacute stroke. Little is known about its long-term sustainability, the right target group of the stroke population, and the optimal time to start intervention.

Conclusion

More research is needed to determine the optimal dose of therapy, optimal time to start this intervention, and the right target group. Accordingly, no firm conclusions can now be drawn on the effectiveness of MT until more evidence is present.