Article

Mirror therapy is a priming technique to improve motor function of
the affected arm after stroke. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether a mirror
therapy-based action observation (AO) protocol contributes to motor learning of
the affected arm after stroke. METHODS: A total of 37 participants in the chronic
stage after stroke were randomly allocated to the AO or control observation (CO)
group. Participants were instructed to perform an upper-arm reaching task as fast
and as fluently as possible. All participants trained the upper-arm reaching task
with their affected arm alternated with either AO or CO. Participants in the AO
group observed mirrored video tapes of reaching movements performed by their
unaffected arm, whereas participants in the CO group observed static photographs
of landscapes. The experimental condition effect was investigated by evaluating
the primary outcome measure: movement time (in seconds) of the reaching movement,
measured by accelerometry. RESULTS: Movement time decreased significantly in both
groups: 18.3% in the AO and 9.1% in the CO group. Decrease in movement time was
significantly more in the AO compared with the CO group (mean difference = 0.14
s; 95% confidence interval = 0.02, 0.26; P = .026). CONCLUSION: The present study
showed that a mirror therapy-based AO protocol contributes to motor learning
after stroke.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS