Effect of constraint-induced movement therapy with modified opposition restriction orthosis in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kim, Dong Gyu^a | Cho, Yun Woo^a | Hong, Ji Heon^b | Song, Jun Chan^c | Chung, Hyun-Ae^d | Bai, Dai-seg^e | Lee, Chu-Hee^f | Jang, Sung Ho^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, Republic of Korea | [b] Master Program of the Department of Rehabilitation Science, Taegu University, Taegu, Republic of Korea | [c] Department of Physical Therapy, Kyungbuk College, Republic of Korea | [d] Department of Occupational Therapy, Youngnam Foreign Language College, Republic of Korea | [e] Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, Republic of Korea | [f] Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, Republic of Korea

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Sung Ho Jang, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University 317-1, Daemyungdong, Namku, Taegu, 705-717, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 053 620 3269; Fax: +82 53 620 3269; E-mail: strokerehab@hanmail.net/belado@med.yu.ac.kr

Abstract: Objectives:Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been demonstrated to be effective in improving hemiparetic upper extremity function in stroke patients, but few studies have been performed to assess orthosis modification. We investigated the effect of the newly designed small orthosis named modified opposition restriction orthosis (MORO) in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke. Design:Twenty-one stroke patients were randomly assigned to the CIMT group or control group. Thirteen patients in the CIMT group wore MORO confining the thumb and index finger for at least 5 hours of each day, 7 days a week for 8 weeks. The affected upper extremity function was evaluated using the manual function test (MFT), Purdue Pegboard (PP) score, and motor activity log (MAL) at pre and post-CIMT. Results:Four of the 13 patients in the CIMT group dropped out due to motivational problems, and 9 patients remained in the CIMT group at the end of the study. The patients in the CIMT group showed a mean improvement of 195.8% on MAL AOU (Amount of Use), 24.6% on PP score, and 5.5% on MFT. Conclusion:This new MORO would be effective for use in a CIMT program in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke.

Keywords: Constraint-induced movement therapy, orthosis, stroke, hemiparesis

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-2008-23305

Journal: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 239-244, 2008