Effects of Imaginary Resisted Exercise Versus Physical Resisted Exercise on Hand Grip Strength in Stroke Patients

Riphah International University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stroke

Treatments: Other: Imaginary Resistance Exercises; Other: Physical Resisted Exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04894773

REC/FSD/0234

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of our study is to make a comparison between the effectiveness of physical resistance exercise and imaginary resistance exercise in improving handgrip strength, dexterity, and eye-hand coordination among stroke patients.

Full description

A Randomized Control Trial study will be conducted in which patients with stroke will be allocated to Group A that will receive imaginary resistance exercises and patients in group B will receive physical resistance exercises.

The intervention will be applied (3 days /week) for 12 weeks, which consists of 5 different types of resistance using 5 different resistive objects, each will have 15 repetitions. Each session includes handgrip exercises with physical resistance exercises for one group and imaginary resistance exercises using Virtual Reality Box for another group. As for improving dexterity and eye-hand coordination, the Purdue pegboard test and finger-to-nose test will be used respectively in both groups with 15-15 repetitions.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50 to 74 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age should be in the range from 50 years to 75 years
• Time passed since stroke attack should be more than one year.
• Grade of Manual Muscles Testing for Elbow and Wrist, Flexion / Extension should be more than 2 out of 5.
• Scoring of Modified Ashworth Scale should be more than 3 out of 5 for the same muscle groups of previously mentioned movements.

Exclusion criteria

• Any significant pain present in the affected upper limb.
• Increased muscle tone that interferes with movements of the affected upper limb.
• Serious sensory loss in the affected upper limb.
• Severe medical issues currently.
• Cognitive impairment to a level that interferes with sessions of intervention.
• Impairments of vision that disables patient to perform interventional exercises.
• Serious presence of apraxia / neglect.
• If enrolled for any related or alike other upper limb therapy sessions / interventional studies.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Imaginary Resisted Exercises

Experimental group

Description:

Handgrip exercises with the imagination of resistance in hand by getting feedback in VR Box will be given as an intervention. Stretching will be given at the beginning and the end of each session. This will include imaginary resistance exercises for handgrip by using Virtual Reality Box. Five types of different resistances will be imagined by patients by watching their own videos in VR box, which will be recorded on day one to make them familiar with the resistive objects and the resistance experienced from them by asking patients to perform 15-15 repetitions of each object. Every imaginary resistance exercise will have 15 repetitions. After performing exercises, the participants will ask to perform Finger-to-Nose Test and Purdue Pegboard Test.

Treatment:

Other: Imaginary Resistance Exercises

Physical Resisted Exercises

Experimental group

Description:

Handgrip exercises with physical resistance in hand will be given as an intervention. Stretching will be given at the beginning and the end of the session. 5 different types of resistances will be given to patients for making themselves familiarize themselves with the type of resistance applied by each object, that they will experience in further sessions, by asking them to perform 15-15 repetitions of each object. Every physical resistance exercise will have 15 repetitions. After performing exercises, the participants will ask to perform Finger-to-Nose Test and Purdue Pegboard Test.

Treatment:

Other: Physical Resisted Exercises