Effects of modified constraint induced movement therapy and mirror therapy on improving upper extremity motor functions in stroke patients
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61581/mjsp.v7i03.397Keywords:
Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, Mirror Therapy, Stroke, Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity, Motor Function, Neurological RehabilitationAbstract
Objective: To explore and compare the effect of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Mirror Therapy on the upper limb motor functioning of post-stroke patients.
Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial carried out at the Department of Physiotherapy, Faisal Hospital in Multan. Twenty-six patients, 45 to 65 years old who had a first-ever ischemic stroke, were randomly assigned to either of two groups. Group A (n = 13) were treated with Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Group B (n = 13) were treated with Mirror Therapy combined with conventional physiotherapy four times a week for four weeks. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity scale was used to measure motor function at baseline and post intervention. The paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and Levene's test were used to analyze the data at p<0.05.
Results: 12 subjects from Group A and 11 from Group B completed the study - both groups showed significant improvements on all FMA-UE subscales (p < 0.001). CIMT group demonstrated a mean gain of 17.00 ± 1.65 points while MT group demonstrated a mean gain of 11.36 ± 1.12 points. There were significant differences between the group comparison in which CIMT scored higher on the upper extremity (p = 0.008) and wrist (p < 0.001), hand (p < 0.001), and total score (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Modified CIMT has a significantly higher recovery of upper limb motor function compared to both interventions and it is effective at improving wrist and hand motor function.
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