Phase II pragmatic randomized controlled trial of patient-led therapies mMirror therapy and lower-limb exercises) during inpatient stroke rehabilitation

Tyson, Sarah; Wilkinson, Jack; Thomas, Nessa; Selles, Ruud; McCabe, Candy; Tyrrell, Pippa; Vail, Andy

Abstract

© American Society of Neurorehabilitation. Background and objective. Patient-led therapy has the potential to increase the amount of therapy patients undertake during stroke rehabilitation and to enhance recovery. Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of 2 patient-led therapies during the acute stages of stroke care: mirror therapy for the upper limb and lower-limb exercises for the lower limb. Methods. This was a blind assessed, multicenter, pragmatic randomized controlled trial of patient-led upper-limb mirror therapy and patient-led lower leg exercises. Stroke survivors with upper and lower limb limitations, undergoing inpatient rehabilitation and able to consent were recruited at least 1 week poststroke. Results. Both interventions proved feasible, with >90% retention. No serious adverse events were reported. Both groups did less therapy than recommended; typically 5 to 15 minutes for 7 days or less. Participants receiving mirror therapy (n = 63) tended to do less practice than those doing lower-limb exercises (n = 31). Those with neglect did 69% less mirror therapy than those without (P =.02), which was not observed in the exercise group. Observed between-group differences were modest but neglect, upper-limb strength, and dexterity showed some improvement in the mirror therapy group. No changes were seen in the lower-limb group. Conclusions. Both patient-led mirror therapy and lower-limb exercises during inpatient stroke care are safe, feasible, and acceptable and warrant further investigation. Practice for 5 to 15 minutes for 7 days is a realistic prescription unless strategies to enhance adherence are included.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 9, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 9, 2015
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 5, 2019
• Journal: Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
• Print ISSN: 1545-9683
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-6844
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 818-826
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1545968314565513
• Keywords: stroke, patient-led, mirror therapy, exercise
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/805239
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1545968314565513