Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, A Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2013 Jun;49(3):311-7. Epub 2013 Mar 13.
Upper limb paresis remains a relevant challenge in stroke rehabilitation.
To evaluate if adding mirror therapy (MT) to conventional therapy (CT) can improve motor recovery of the upper limb in subacute stroke patients.
Prospective, single-center, single-blind, randomised, controlled trial.
Subacute stroke patients referred to a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Unit between October 2009 and August 2011.
Twenty-six subacute stroke patients (time from stroke <4 weeks) with upper limb paresis (Motricity Index ≤ 77).
Patients were randomly allocated to the MT (N.=13) or to the CT group (N.=13). Both followed a comprehensive rehabilitative treatment. In addition, MT Group had 30 minutes of MT while the CT group had 30 minutes of sham therapy. Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) was the primary outcome measures. Motricity Index (MI) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were the secondary outcome measures.
After one month of treatment patients of both groups showed statistically significant improvements in all the variables measured (P<0.05). Moreover patients of the MT group had greater improvements in the ARAT, MI and FIM values compared to CT group (P<0.01, Glass's Δ Effect Size: 1.18). No relevant adverse event was recorded during the study.
MT is a promising and easy method to improve motor recovery of the upper limb in subacute stroke patients.
While MT use has been advocated for acute patients with no or negligible motor function, it can be usefully extended to patients who show partial motor recovery. The easiness of implementation, the low cost and the acceptability makes this therapy an useful tool in stroke rehabilitation.
上肢瘫痪仍然是中风康复的一个重要挑战。
评估在亚急性期中风患者中，将镜像治疗（MT）与常规治疗（CT）相结合是否可以改善上肢运动功能的恢复。
前瞻性、单中心、单盲、随机对照试验。
亚急性期中风患者于 2009 年 10 月至 2011 年 8 月期间被转诊至物理康复医学科。
26 名亚急性期中风患者（中风后<4 周），上肢瘫痪（运动指数≤77）。
患者随机分配至 MT（N=13）或 CT 组（N=13）。两组均接受综合康复治疗。此外，MT 组接受 30 分钟的 MT，而 CT 组接受 30 分钟的假治疗。主要结局指标为动作研究上肢测试（ARAT）。运动指数（MI）和功能独立性测量（FIM）为次要结局指标。
在治疗一个月后，两组患者在所有测量变量上均显示出统计学上显著的改善（P<0.05）。此外，MT 组患者在 ARAT、MI 和 FIM 值方面的改善大于 CT 组（P<0.01，Glass's Δ 效应量：1.18）。在研究过程中未记录到相关不良事件。
MT 是一种有前途且简单的方法，可以改善亚急性期中风患者上肢运动功能的恢复。
虽然 MT 已被提倡用于无运动功能或运动功能轻微的急性患者，但它也可以有效地扩展到表现出部分运动功能恢复的患者。实施的简便性、低费用和可接受性使这种治疗成为中风康复的有用工具。
