Systematic review of the effects of mirror therapy in children with cerebral palsy.
Eom-Ji Park, Soon-Hyung Baek, Soohee Park
PMID 27942154WHAT IT FOUND
Across nine studies in children with cerebral palsy, mirror therapy improved hand or arm measures in seven, but a study found worse daily tasks with both hands and no randomized trial was included.
Key findings
01Of the nine included studies, seven reported positive effects of mirror-mediated therapy.
02In the Adler study, mirror movement had a negative effect on activity of both hands and daily living time.
03No randomized controlled trials were included, and the review could not perform a meta-analysis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 9 studies were included, and they were too few and too varied for a meta-analysis. No randomized controlled trials were included. Comparisons varied widely, including no-mirror, opaque screen, glass, bimanual activity, pre-post comparison, and no comparison. Outcome measures varied, and EMG was used most often, so functional daily-life outcomes were not consistent. The search was limited to Medline and EMBASE, and studies without full text or without data-based results were excluded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude mirror therapy is proven effective for children with cerebral palsy. The review included no randomized trials, and a study found worse activity of both hands and daily living time.