Effects of mental practice combined with electromyogram-triggered electrical stimulation for upper extremity function in stroke patients.
Ji-Su Park, Jong-Bae Choi, Duk-Hyun An and 1 others
PMID 29184296WHAT IT FOUND
Adding mental practice plus EMG-triggered electrical stimulation to conventional rehabilitation produced larger gains in upper-extremity motor function and activity scores than conventional rehabilitation alone in stroke hemiparesis.
The added treatment and usual therapy were given together.
Key findings
01The paper states that 40 patients were allocated, with 16 in the experimental group and 16 in the control group.
02The experimental group received mental practice with EMG-triggered electrical stimulation plus conventional rehabilitation therapy, and the control group received conventional rehabilitation therapy only.
03After intervention, FMA, MAL-AOU, and MAL-QOM differed significantly between groups (p<0.05).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The paper reports 40 patients allocated but gives group sizes of 16 and 16. The paper does not say how allocation was done, nor whether participants or assessors were blinded. The experimental group received both mental practice with EMG-triggered electrical stimulation and conventional rehabilitation therapy, while the control group received conventional rehabilitation therapy only, so the contribution of each component cannot be separated. The paper does not report dropouts or whether all allocated patients completed the intervention. The paper does not name a primary outcome among the measured scales.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mental practice with EMG-triggered electrical stimulation alone caused the improvement. The experimental group also received conventional rehabilitation, and the paper reports 40 patients allocated but only 16 in each group.