Motor recovery following stroke: a basis for evaluation.

Health professionals devote much time to the treatment of stroke patients yet little is known about the extent to which recovery is influenced, and the effectiveness of rehabilitation methods continues to be a much-debated subject. The aim of this study was to identify whether changes in the motor recovery of 42 acute stroke patients could be detected by qualitatively scoring 25 items of functional mobility over a 14-week period. The results of the study identified that this method was sensitive in detecting weekly changes in early motor recovery. Three recovery groups were identified, and within each group it was possible to describe important time periods in which patients demonstrated varied rates of recovery. A qualitative and objective measure of stroke recovery could provide a basis for evaluating patient progress and the outcome of therapeutic interventions.