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Effect of Mirror Therapy Versus Bilateral Arm Training for Rehabilitation After Chronic Stroke

Effect of Mirror Therapy Versus Bilateral Arm Training for Rehabilitation After Chronic Stroke: a Pilot Randomized-controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02548234
Enrollment
29
Registered
2015-09-14
Start date
2015-09-11
Completion date
2017-10-06
Last updated
2020-09-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Stroke

Keywords

Stroke, Randomized control trial, Mirror therapy, Bilateral arm training, Comparative efficacy research, Neurorehabilitation

Brief summary

The study purpose is to compare the efficacy of mirror therapy and bilateral arm training on movement strategies of the affected upper extremity and functional outcome in chronic stroke patients.

Detailed description

Study background: Approximately 80% of stroke survivors have an upper and/or lower limb impairment (Barker 1997), and impairment of the arm explains up to 50% of the variance in functional limitation after stroke. Brain imaging research using magnetoencephalography found that mirror therapy combined with bilateral arm training could potentially aid stroke rehabilitation by normalizing an asymmetrical pattern of movement-related beta desynchronization in primary motor cortex. However, different neural mechanisms may cause different effect of motor control recovery after the two different approaches, which have yet to be studied. Study purpose:To compare the efficacy of mirror therapy and bilateral arm training on movement strategies of the affected upper extremity and functional outcome in chronic stroke patients. Study method: This was a single-blind, randomized, comparative efficacy research. Sixty participants with chronic stroke will be recruited in the occupational therapy clinics at four hospitals and randomly assigned to the mirror therapy and bilateral arm training groups. The intervention will consist of 1.5 hrs/day, 5 days/wk for 4 wks, including 3 days of hospital-based therapy and 5 days of home practice. Primary outcomes were muscular properties (grip strength) and sensorimotor measurements. Secondary outcomes included measures of daily functions to gain insight about movement capabilities. The validity and reliability of all measurements have been proposed. Finally, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Fisher exact test will be used to compare the significant differences between the two approaches. The effect size of dependent variables will be reported also.

Interventions

OTHERMirror therapy

Mirror therapy group received training for 1.5 hours/day, 3 days/week, for 4 weeks and home programs for 30-40 min/day, 5 days/week.

Bilateral arm training group received training for 1.5 hours/day, 3 days/week, for 4 weeks and home programs for 30-40 min/day, 5 days/week.

Sponsors

China Medical University Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* more than 6 months after onset of an ischemic or hemorrhage stroke * no excessive spasticity on all joints of the affected arm

Exclusion criteria

* history of stroke or other neurologic, neuromuscular, or orthopedic disease * participation in other experimental rehabilitation or drug studies concurrent with this study

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training on sensorimotor functionswithin four weeks (plus or minus 3 days) after interventionRevised Nottingham Sensory Assessment and Fugl-Meyer Assessment will be used to measure sensorimotor functions. The statistical analysis will be performed to compare the significant differences for the efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training on motor performancewithin four weeks (plus or minus 3 days) after interventionThe Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory (CAHAI) will be used to measure arm and hand functions on real-life bilateral tasks. The statistical analysis will be performed to compare the significant differences for the efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training on motor performance.
The efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training on quality of lifewithin four weeks (plus or minus 3 days) after interventionStroke Impact Scale Version 3.0 (SIS) will be used to measure patient reported quality of life and multidimensional stroke recovery. The statistical analysis will be performed to compare the significant differences for the efficacy of mirror therapy versus bilateral arm training.

Countries

Taiwan

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026