Effects of bilateral training on motor function, amount of activity and activity intensity measured with an accelerometer of patients with stroke.
[Purpose] This study investigated the recovery of arm function and the functional use of the affected limb in real life of stroke patients after bilateral arm training. [Subjects] Twenty patients with stroke were randomly allocated to the BT (bilateral training group, n=10) and UT (unilateral training group, n=10) groups. [Methods] The BT group performed functional tasks with both hand symmetrically, the UT group performed tasks with only the affected hand for 30 minutes a session 5 times a week over 6 weeks. Before and after the intervention, accelerometers (Actisleep), functional independence measure (FIM) and manual function test (MFT) were used to assess subjects' abilities. [Results] The BT group showed a significant improvement in FIM total score, motor subtotal score and MFT score of affected side compared to the UT group. The BT group showed a more quantitative increase in the amount of activity of the affected side than the UT group. Regarding activity intensity, the BT group showed a decrease in the sedentary level and an increase of the moderate level on the affected side compared to the UT group. [Conclusion] We found that programs tailored to the characteristics of stroke patients and continuous monitoring of physical activity using an accelerometer minimized possible future disability and improved the patients' quality of life.
Department of Occupational Therapy, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea.
Sunhwa
S
Shim
Department of Occupational Therapy, Semyung University, Republic of Korea.
Jinhwa
J
Jung
Accelerometers; Bilateral training; Stroke