The effect of motor imagery training for trunk movements on trunk muscle control and proprioception in stroke patients.

The study included only 12 patients, six in each group, so the results are unstable and cannot be generalized to all stroke patients. Patients had to be at least six months after stroke, score 24 or higher on a cognitive test, and score 40 or higher on a movement imagery ability test, so the findings may not apply to more impaired, acute, or less cognitively able stroke patients. The imagery group also received 20 minutes of trunk-control NDT, and the control group received 30 minutes of trunk-control NDT, so the study cannot show the contribution of motor imagery alone. The paper says patients were randomly assigned but does not say how that assignment was done, whether the outcome assessors were blinded, or what happened to patients who stopped. The paper does not clearly name a primary outcome. It is therefore harder to judge which result should carry the most weight. The measured outcomes were trunk muscle activity and position sense, not balance, falls, gait, or daily activities, despite the paper's discussion of these areas. The authors state that they measured only a few muscles and did not allow evaluation of long-term effects or broader function. The paper says patients needed a score of 40 or higher on a vividness of movement imagery questionnaire, but later says the MIQ-RS was used, so the imagery ability assessment is not fully clear.

The supplied article text does not report funding or conflicts of interest.

Do not read this as proof that motor imagery training is better than trunk-control NDT alone. The imagery group also received trunk-control NDT, and the study was small and measured only trunk muscle activity and position sense.