RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of motor relearning program along with electrical stimulation for improving upper limb function in patients with sub-acute stroke. METHODS: A quasi experimental study was conducted at Physiotherapy Department of SAIDU Group of Teaching Hospitals Swat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from January to June 2019. Forty four subjects with post stroke duration of 3-9 months (sub-acute) participated in the study. Subjects received electrical stimulations for the effected arm for 15 minutes along with motor relearning programme for an hour five days a week for six weeks. The upper limb sub scales of motor assessment scale were used to collect pre and post treatment data. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 54.95±13.2 years. Out of 44 participants 31(70.5%) were male and 13 (29.5%) were female. Pretreatment upper arm function, hand movement and advance hand activities scores were 1.36 ± 0.49, 1.18 ± 0.39 and 1.04 ± 0.21 respectively while their post treatment scores were 5.18 ± 0.96, 4.77 ± 1.02 and 3.95 ± 1.21 respectively. There was significant differences (P<0.05) between pre and post treatment scores of upper arm function, hand movement and advance hand activities. CONCLUSION: Motor relearning program along with electrical stimulation significantly improves upper limb function in patients with sub-acute stroke.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of motor relearning programme with mirror therapy in upper limb motor functions of stroke patients. METHODS: The randomised control trial was conducted in Rafsan Neuro Rehabilitation Centre, Peshawar, Pakistan, from June to December 2017, and comprised stroke patients who had Mini Mental State Examination score over 24. Participants were randomly allocated into treatment and control groups. The treatment group underwent a Motor Relearning Programme, while the control group received Mirror therapy. Upper limb sub-scales of the motor assessment scale were used as data collection tool. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 66 subjects, 46(69.7%) were males and 20(30.3%) were females. The overall mean age was 55.44±9.21 years. Left hemiplegia was found in 31(47%) subjects, while 35(53%) had right hemiplegia. Each of the two groups had 33(50%) subjects. There were significant differences between pre-treatment and post-treatment mean scores of upper arm functions, hand function and advance hand activities of the two groups (p<0.05 each). All the three variables significantly improved in the treatment group compared to the control group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Motor Relearning Programme and Mirror therapy were found to be effective in improving upper limb motor functions of stroke patients, but the former was found to be more effective than the latter.
