Effects of motor imagery combined with task-oriented training on the recovery of upper extremity function after stroke: A randomized controlled trial

Objective To investigate the effect of motor imagery combined with task-oriented training on the recovery of upper extremity function after stroke.Methods Thirty-four chronic stroke patients were randomly divided into a treatment group (n =18 cases) and a control group (n =16 cases) using a random number table.All the patients in both groups were given similar conventional rehabilitation treatment.The patients in the treatment group were given motor imagery therapy for 40 min and task-oriented training for 60 min,while those in the control group were given rehabilitation education and task-oriented training for the same periods.All the treatments above were once a day,5 days a week,lasting 4 weeks.The Fugl-Meyer assessment of upper extremity (FMA-UE),the modified Barthel index (MBI),and motor activity logs,which included two sub-scales for assessing the amount of use (MAL-AOU) and quality of movement (MAL-QOM) of the affected hand were used to evaluate upper extremity motor ability before and after 4 weeks of treatment.Results At the end of 4 weeks' treatment,all measurements in both groups had significantly improved than those before training (P ＜ 0.05).The average FMA-UE,MBI,MAL-AOU and MAL-QOM scores [(38.61±5.86),(80.55±7.25),(2.55 ±0.45) and (3.12±0.59) respectively] of the treatment group significantly exceeded those [(31.87 ±6.31),(73.12 ±9.63),(1.78 ±0.71) and (2.38 ± 0.76) respectively] of the control group (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Motor imagery combined with task-oriented training is more effective than task-oriented training alone for promoting the recovery of upper limb function in chronic stroke patients. Key words: Motor imagery;  Task-oriented training;  Stroke;  Upper-extremity function