Authors (including presenting author) :
Chen, PW (1), Chan, CC (2), Yip, CT (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Occupational Therapy department, Tseung Kwan O Hospital, (2) Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Introduction :
Recent research suggested motor imagery (MI) guided by action observation (AO), termed as AOMI, could facilitate motor recovery in patients with stroke. Yet, the effect of AOMI seems to be hindered by the impaired ability of kinesthetic imagery of patients with stroke (Friesen, Bardouille, Neyedli & Boe, 2017). This study aimed to explore the effects of the kinesthetic sense training on enhancing the effect of AOMI on motor recovery of patients with stroke.
Objectives :
The significance of the study would offer insights on future program designs of kinesthetic inputs training prior to AOMI training in stroke rehabilitation.
Methodology :
Four patients (age (SD) = 64(8.60)) with stroke having the FTHUE level of 2 (out of 7) were recruited. They received kinesthetic inputs training offered by the study experimenter, followed by AOMI training twice a week for eight consecutive weeks. The performance in upper limb and hand functions, daily living function and self-efficacy on perform daily functional tasks were measured before, in Week 4 and upon the program completion by administrating Fugl Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery - Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) , Modified Barthel Index - Chinese Version (MBI-C) and Stroke Self- Efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ), respectively. An interview was also conducted to obtain participants’comments on the training program at the end of the AOMI program.
Result & Outcome :
The result suggested that an improving trend in mean motor function section of FMA-UE (p=0.06) in different stages of motor recovery. Furthermore, analyses showed increase in SSEQ (p=0.02), but only little improvement in daily living function, MBI (p= 0.37). Participants also gave positive comments towards our kinesthetic inputs training and AOMI training. To conclude, the results suggested the kinesthetic sense training would be a new training approach to enhance the effect of AOMI training in the stroke rehabilitation. Further clinical trials with larger would be worthwhile to be conducted to examine the effectiveness of the imagery training approach to benefit patients with stroke.
