Effects of task-specific rehabilitation on functions of the upper extremity in chronic stroke

Background and Purpose: Post stroke, many individuals have severely limited functional movement control due to chronic unilateral motor dysfunction in upper extremity. Study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Task-specific rehabilitation on upper extremity function. For this, Bilateral Movement Training (BMT) was given to see its effects on upper extremity functions with a chronic stroke of more than 6 months and less than 2 years earlier. Methods: One hundred subjects, who were diagnosed as stroke by qualified Neurologists and Neurosurgeons were selected & given BMT, one session of 45 minutes/day for ninety days. At Day 0, Day 45, and Day 90 Fugl-Meyer Assessment of physical performance (FMAPP) & Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement (STREAM) used to assess upper extremity dysfunction in stroke. Results: Analysis of pre and post-study data tells that FMAPP & STREAM discovered substantial findings (P, 0.000). After rehabilitation treatment showed that BMT is better on both the scales. Conclusions: Findings of this trial provide important insights that task-specific rehabilitation in form of BMT has significant improvement in functions of upper extremity in chronic stroke subjects. It is recommended in future that similar study can be done for longer duration or with large sample size.