Mirror Therapy Promotes Recovery From Severe Hemiparesis: A Randomized Controlled Trial (original) (raw)

Brief Report: The Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy on Upper Limb Function in Stroke Patients: A Single Case Experimental Design

Volume 17, Issue 3, 2019

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of mirror therapy (MT) on upper limb (UL) function of sub-acute stroke patients. Methods: This study is a single case experimental design with two participants. Twenty minutes of MT were implemented four times a week over a period of four weeks. For baseline phase, repeated measurements were performed six times for one participant and four times for the other participant using Fugl-Meyer Motor Function Assessment (FMA), and it was applied twice a week during the intervention phase. Brunnstrom Recovery Stages (BRS) and Barthel Index (BI) were applied once before the baseline phase, as well as prior and after the intervention phase. Results: Based on percentage of non-overlapping data (PND) for FMA subtests, MT had questionable effectiveness on UL for both participants, and MT was unreliable intervention on wrist function. For the hand, of the second participant, MT had questionable effectiveness, whereas for the first participant it was unreliable intervention. For coordination, MT was fairly effective for the first participant and had questionable effectiveness for the second participant. BRS-Arm scores indicated improvements for the second participant from 3 (out of 6) to 4. BRS-Hand scores indicated improvements for the first participant from 5 (out of 6) to 6. No changes were shown in BI. Discussion: This study revealed that MT had positive effects on some sections of UL motor function and coordination, whereas no change in wrist motor function was observed. No functional improvements in BI and slight difference in BRS were noticed.

Mirror therapy enhances upper extremity motor recovery in stroke patients

Acta neurologica Belgica, 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of mirror therapy program in addition with physical therapy methods on upper limb recovery in patients with subacute ischemic stroke. 15 subjects followed a comprehensive rehabilitative treatment, 8 subjects received only control therapy (CT) and 7 subjects received mirror therapy (MT) for 30 min every day, five times a week, for 6 weeks in addition to the conventional therapy. Brunnstrom stages, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (upper extremity), the Ashworth Scale, and Bhakta Test (finger flexion scale) were used to assess changes in upper limb motor recovery and motor function after intervention. After 6 weeks of treatment, patients in both groups showed significant improvements in the variables measured. Patients who received MT showed greater improvements compared to the CT group. The MT treatment results included: improvement of motor functions, manual skills and activities of daily living. The best results were obtained when the trea...

Mirror Therapy Rehabilitation in Stroke: A Scoping Review of Upper Limb Recovery and Brain Activities

Rehabilitation Research and Practice, 2021

Background. Mirror therapy (MT) has been used as a treatment for various neurological disorders. Recent application of electroencephalogram (EEG) to the MT study allows researchers to gain insight into the changes in brain activity during the therapy. Objective. This scoping review is aimed at mapping existing evidence and identifying knowledge gaps about the effects of MT on upper limb recovery and its application for individuals with chronic stroke. Methods and Materials. A scoping review through a systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases. Twenty articles published between 2010 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. The efficacy of MT on upper limb recovery and brain activity during MT were discussed according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Results. A majority of the studies indicated positive effects of MT on upper limb recovery from the body structure/functional domain. All stu...

The Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy to Upper Extremity Rehabilitation in Acute Stroke Patients

2021

Rehabilitation is a crucial part of stroke recovery to help them regain use of their limb. The aim of this article was to compare the effectiveness of long-term training of mirror therapy with conventional rehabilitation therapy on neurological and recovery of upper limb in acute stroke patients. In this randomized and assessor-blinded control study, 20 acute stroke patients were analyzed in this study and allocated to a case (n = 10, 50.6 ± 17.90 years) and control group (n = 10, 55.9 ± 11.25 years). All the participants performed daily home exercise during 12 weeks. The patients in the control group were treated with conventional therapy (CT) and a group of cases were treated with mirror therapy (MT) alone program. The outcome measurements were assessed by a therapist blinded assessor using Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) upper extremity score, Brunnstrom recovery stages (BRS), Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Muscle Strength to evaluate upper limb motor function and motor recovery. ...