Task-Based Mirror Therapy Augmenting Motor Recovery in Poststroke Hemiparesis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

DEMAND your doctor get the protocol for this mirror therapy. It shouldn't take longer than a couple of email or phone calls. They should be able to at least do that much for you since they are doing nothing else useful. Then it should be widely publicized on the ASA and NSA websites, except I bet they won't do that because it might interfere with the doctor/patient relationship. Well I had no relationship with my doctor at all, I may as well not even bothered to have a doctor for all the good it did me.
http://www.strokejournal.org/article/S1052-3057%2815%2900138-X/abstract

Shanta Pandian, MOT

,

Dharmendra Kumar, MS, DNB

,

Vinod Puri, DM

Received: February 11, 2015; Received in revised form: March 6, 2015; Accepted: March 17, 2015; Published Online: June 18, 2015

Publication stage: In Press Corrected Proof

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2015.03.026

Article Info

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Background

To establish the effect of the task-based mirror therapy (TBMT) on the upper limb recovery in stroke.

Methods

A pilot, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial was conducted in a rehabilitation institute. A convenience sample of 33 poststroke (mean duration, 12.5 months) hemiparetic subjects was randomized into 2 groups (experimental, 17; control, 16). The subjects were allocated to receive either TBMT or standard motor rehabilitation—40 sessions (5/week) for a period of 8 weeks. The TBMT group received movements using various goal-directed tasks and a mirror box. The movements were performed by the less-affected side superimposed on the affected side. The main outcome measures were Brunnstrom recovery stage (BRS) and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA)—FMA of upper extremity (FMA-UE), including upper arm (FMA-UA) and wrist–hand (FMA-WH).

Results

The TBMT group exhibited highly significant improvement on mean scores of FMA-WH (P < .001) and FMA-UE (P < .001) at postassessment in comparison to the control group. Furthermore, there was a 12% increase in the number of subjects at BRS stage 5 (out of synergy movement) in the experimental group as compared to a 0% rise at the same stage in the control group.

Conclusions

This pilot trial confirmed the role of TBMT in improving the wrist–hand motor recovery in poststroke hemiparesis. MT using tasks may be used as an adjunct in stroke rehabilitation.