Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reducing the compensatory mechanism by restraining the unnecessary movement may be helpful in relearning the upper-limb movement.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) with trunk restraint (TR) in chronic stroke patients with moderate impairment.
METHODS: Eighteen participants with hemiparesis were randomly assigned to mCIMT + TR or mCIMT. Each group underwent 20 (1 h/d) intervention session (5 d/wk for 4 weeks). Patients were assessed with the action research arm test (ARAT), the Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity (FMA-UE), the modified Barthel index (MBI), and the motor activity log (MAL-AOU and MAL-QOM).
RESULTS: The mCIMT combined with trunk restraint group exhibited greater changes in the ARAT, FMA, MBI, and MAL (MAL-AOU and MAL-QOM) compared with the mCIMT group. Statistical analyses showed significantly different in ARAT (Z = –2.17, P = 0.03), FMA-UE (Z = –2.49, P = 0.01), MBI (Z = –2.44, P = 0.02), MAL-AOU (Z = –2.17, P = 0.03), and MAL-QOM (Z = –2.17, P = 0.03) between groups.
CONCLUSION: These finding suggest that mCIMT combined with trunk restraint is more helpful to improve upper-extremity function than mCIMT only in patient with chronic stroke.
