1Student, Masters of Physiotherapy (Neurology), Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Physiotherapy, New Delhi
2Assistant Professor, Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Physiotherapy, New Delhi
3Assistant Professor, Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Physiotherapy, New Delhi
4Director, Janakpuri Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi
Online published on 18 July, 2017.
Initially, some 80% of all patients with stroke experience motor impairments of the contralateral limbs, i.e hemiparesis. Hemiparesis induces ankle control disturbances and equinovarus deformity, leading to difficulty in walking. Mirror therapy is relatively new therapeutic intervention that focuses on moving the unimpaired limb. Likewise, another technique called Mental imageryis the cognitive rehearsal of a task in the absence of movement.
To compare mirror therapy and mental imagery in improving ankle motor recovery in sub-acutestroke patients.
30 stroke patients were selected in the study, and were randomly assigned into two groups. Group A i.e. Mirror Therapy group (n=15) or the Group B i.e. Mental Imagery group (n=15). Both the groups received 30 minutes of their respective therapy that is mirror therapy and mental imagery and in addition to 30 minutes of conventional therapy which included neurodevelopmental facilitation technique, stretching, gait training that is a total of 1 hour per day for 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Modified Ashworth Scale, 10 Meter Walk test (10MWT), Fugl-Meyer assessment Lower extremity (FMA-LE) scalewere administered pre and post intervention to assess the ankle motor function.
OnlyFugl Meyer Assessment scores on comparison between Group A (Mirror Therapy) and Group B (Mental Imagery) revealed that statistically significant improvement was found in Group B (Mental Imagery) (t-value: 2.140; p-value:. 041).
The present study concluded that Mental Imagery proved to be more effective than Mirror Therapy in improving ankle motor recovery in sub acute stroke patients.
Stroke, Mirror Therapy, Mental Imagery
