Original StudyEffect of Mental Practice on the Improvement of Function and Daily Activity Performance of the Upper Extremity in Patients With Subacute Stroke: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Section snippets
Study Design
A multicenter, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of 6 weeks of MP-based treatment on arm–hand skill performance in patients with unilateral stroke. The training occurred in the subacute phase after stroke. Assessment took place on entry to the study (T0), posttreatment (T1), and at 3 follow-up moments during the year [6 (T2), 9 (T3), and 12 months (T4) after baseline measurement]. Detailed information on the study protocol can be found in Verbunt
Results
The study started in March 2008 and lasted until November 2011. Figure 1 gives an overview of the trial profile, that is, the number of participants throughout the study. All therapists who conducted the measurements (physiotherapists) were not involved in any treatment (conducted by OTs) and remained blind to the treatment allocation of the patients.
Discussion
It was the aim of this study to evaluate whether a 6-week additional MP intervention in subacute stroke patients is effective in improving arm–hand function and performance of daily activities as compared with additional NDT.
In this study, in contrast with the control group, only the experimental group (therapy as usual + MP) demonstrated significant improvement on the FAT after training that was maintained for at least 12 months. This may be related to training-specific effects because the
Conclusions
It can be concluded that, in a broad spectrum of subacute stroke patients, no differential effects could be found that favor the additional use of MP to therapy as usual for the improvement of upper extremity performance. However, training-specific effects were found for the experimental group, supporting the use of a client-centered training approach. Future research should explore the potential of higher training intensities, a larger number of exercises and higher exercise variability, the
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Bernard Michielsen, MD (Atrium Medical Centre, the Netherlands), and Wim Wetzelaer, MD (Vie Curie, The Netherlands), for their contribution to the study.
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Cited by (0)
This study was funded by ZonMw (Project 14350051). Trial registration: Current Control Trials [ISRCTN33487341].
The authors have declared that they have no conflicts of interest.