Efficacy of constraint-induced movement therapy for motor function of upper extremity after strokey

Objective:To determine the efficacy of constraint-induced movement therapy(CIMT) protocol for patients with stroke patients. Method: Twelve patients who experienced stroke were given CIMT, involving restriction of movement of the intact upper extremity by placing it in a sling for 90% of waking hours for 12 days and training (by shaping) the more affected extremity for 6 hours on the 10 week days during that period. Outcome measures were upper extremity function test(UEFT) and simple test for evaluating hand function(STEF).Result:Patients showed a significant and very large degree of improvement from before to after treatment on UEFT and STEF (ES, 1.24 and 0.65, respectively). The subacute patients who suffered a stroke≤6 months before the initiation of CI therapy received as much benefit from the therapy as chronic patients (ES:1.43 to 0.96;0.81 to 0.5, respectively). Conclusion: CIMT is an efficacious method of improving function and use of the more affected arms of subacute and chronic stroke patients.