Effects of intensive motor mental practice on the recovery of upper limb function in hemiplegic patients after stroke / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of intensive motor mental practice (MP) on the recovery of upper limb function in hemiplegic stroke patients.Methods Thirty-nine stroke patients were randomly divided into an intensive group,a conventional group and a control group (13 cases in each group).All received regular rehabilitation therapy for 6 weeks (40 min a day,5 d a week).In the following 6 weeks,patients in the intensive and conventional groups received MP-twice a day for the intensive group and once a day for the conventional group.The patients in the control group instead listened to music daily.Motor function was assessed using the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA)and the action research arm test (ARAT),which were carried out before treatment and after 2,4 and 6 weeks of treatment.Results There was no significant difference in FMA or ARAT scores among the 3 groups after 2 weeks of therapy.After four weeks FMA improvement was significantly greater in the intensive group than in the conventional or control group.There were also significant differences in FMA between the conventional and control groups.ARAT score improvement was significantly better in the intensive group than in the control group,But there was no significant difference in ARAT results between the conventional and control groups.After 6 weeks FMA and ARAT scores had improved significantly more in the intensive and conventional groups than that in the control group.There were also significant differences in FMA and ARAT scores between conventional and control groups.Conclusion Intensive motor mental practice can improve the upper limb motor function of stroke patients more effectively than less aggressive treatment.