title: Effect of functional electrical stimulation with mirror therapy on upper extremity motor function in poststroke patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Motor recovery of the upper extremity in stroke patients is an important goal of rehabilitation. In particular, motor recovery can be accelerated when physical and cognitive interventions are combined. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of functional electrical stimulation (FES) with mirror therapy (MT) on motor function of upper extremity in stroke patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven stroke patients were recruited, and the 23 subjects who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into 2 groups: the experimental group (n = 12) and the control group (n = 11). Both groups received conventional rehabilitation training for 60 minutes/day and 5 days/week for 4 weeks. In addition, members of the experimental group received FES with MT and members of the control group received FES without MT for 30 minutes/day and 5 days/week for 4 weeks. Immediately before and after intervention, motor recovery was measured using the Fugl-Meyer (FM) assessment, Brunnstrom's motor recovery stage (BMRS), the Manual Function Test (MFT), and the Box and Block Test (BBT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant upper extremity motor improvements were observed in the experimental and control groups according to the FM, BMRS, MFT, and BBT (P < .05). In particular, FM subscores for wrist, hand, and co-ordination and MFT subscores for hand function were more significantly improved in the experimental group (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Motor functions of the upper extremity were improved by FES with MT versus controls. The study shows that FES with MT during poststroke rehabilitation may effectively improve motor functions of the upper extremity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical therapy, Graduate School of Sahmyook University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: HyunJin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Kyungnam University, College of Natural Sciences, Changwon-si, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: GyuChang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Sahmyook University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chsong@syu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: ChangHo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Stroke; functional electrical stimulation; mirror therapy; motor function; upper extremity