A comparetive study on the effects of mirror therapy and bilateral arm training on hand function of chronichemiparetic patients

Upper limb chronic hemiparesis is one of the most important factors creating functional disability in stroke patients and therefore several alternative treatments have been proposed with the aim of early restoring upper limb function. Mirror therapy is one of these treatments and the effect of this method has not been evaluated yet in compare with the other methods. Therefore, in this study we compared this method with the effect of bilateral arm training in chronic hemiparetic patients on hand function.
In this randomized double blind clinical trial, 24 stroke patients were selected by systematic sampling and were placed in two groups of bilateral arm training (12 patients) and mirror therapy (12 patients). Treatment programs consisted of 15 sessions (5 days per week), including 30-minute bimanual training program with mirror for the mirror therapy group and 30 minutes bimanual exercises without mirror for the bilateral arm training group. Patients were assessed by Fuglmayer test for hand function, Box & Block test of dexterity for fine movements of upper extremity and Jamar Dynamometer for the power of the upper extremity before and after treatment and after one month follow up period after treatment.
Data showed that the mean scores obtained from the mirror therapy group immediately after therapy and after the follow up period for hand function and fine movements and power variables were significantly higher than those obtained from the bilateral arm training group (P> 0.05).
The findings of this study suggest that mirror therapy may be more effective method for improving hand functions in stroke patients during the chronic phase of recovery.