Mechanism and Efficacy of Rehabilitation Approaches

Chang Gung Medical Foundation

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cerebrovascular Accidents

Treatments: Other: Combined therapy (CT); Other: Bilateral arm training (BAT); Other: Constraint-induced therapy (CIT); Behavioral: Control intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00564005

NHRI-EX97-9742PI

96-0252B

Details and patient eligibility

About

Identify the possible mechanisms and the relative effectiveness of existing rehabilitation approaches that target upper extremity deficits of stroke patients on the ground that these approaches are based on neuroplasticity principles and sound motor control theories.

Full description

Comparisons of constraint-induced therapy (CIT) vs. bilateral arm training (BIT)vs. combined therapy were made. Stroke patients will receive one of these three approaches and be evaluated pre- and post-treatment. the treatment will last 3 weeks and 5 days per week. The evaluation will include clinical measures of motor function, ADL, and quality of life, kinematic performance, and activation patterns of cortex.

Enrollment: 90 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a first-ever clinical cerebrovascular accident patients
• at least 6 months post-stroke onset
• premorbid right-hand dominance
• demonstration of Brunnstrom stage III of the affected upper extremity
• no excessive spasticity in the joints of the affected upper extremity

Exclusion criteria

• a score of less than 24 on the Mini Mental State Exam
• poor physical conditions that would interfere with participation
• excessive pain in any joint that might limit participation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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90 participants in 4 patient groups

1

Experimental group

Description:

constraint-induced therapy

Treatment:

Other: Constraint-induced therapy (CIT)

2

Experimental group

Description:

bilateral arm training

Treatment:

Other: Bilateral arm training (BAT)

3

Experimental group

Description:

combined therapy

Treatment:

Other: Combined therapy (CT)

Control intervention

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control intervention