The effect of eight weeks of mirror training on balance in subacute stroke patients

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of mirror training on balance in patients with subacute stroke. The statistical population included subacute stroke patients referring to Tabassom stroke rehabilitation clinic in Tehran. The sample consisted of 30 subacute patients with inclusion criteria who participated in the study with their consent and volunteering. The Samples were randomly divided into experimental and control of mirror training. Both groups participated in the pre-test and intermediate test, which was performed after four weeks and post-test of Berg Balance Scale after eight weeks. The training program of two groups was the same and included eight weeks, each week, two sessions, each session 90 minutes Consist 60 minutes of normal rehabilitation and 30 minutes of training with mirror in experimental group and without mirror in control group. Data were analyzed by mixed analysis variance (2 * 3) with SPSS23 software. The results showed that all three factors of balance (p = 0.001), group (p = 0.001) and balance and group interaction (p=0.008) had significant effect. Balance was significantly different in all three stages of pre, mid and post-tests (P=0.001). The interactive effect of balance and group in the two experimental and control groups was significantly different between the three stages test (P = 0.001). Overall, mirror training improved the balance of patients with subacute stroke. Therefore, it is recommended to using a mirror training in the subacute stroke patient.