The impact of bimanual reach training with augmented position sense feedback on post-stroke upper limb somatosensory and motor impairment.

The sample size was small (24 participants), which may limit the ability to detect subtle differences between the two training methods. Participants had a wide range of baseline motor impairment (Fugl-Meyer scores 18–64), and the study did not stratify results by severity, meaning the effect might differ for more severely impaired patients. The study only measured immediate post-test effects (24 hours after training), so it is unknown if the improvements in position sense and motor impairment are sustained long-term. Some participants had impairments in their less-affected arm, which may have confounded the effectiveness of the force-coupling intervention that relies on the less-affected arm providing a 'correct' sensory reference.

The authors declare no competing interests. The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Do not assume that force-coupling training is superior because it created better movement symmetry during the practice sessions. The study found that while the coupled group moved more symmetrically while training, this did not result in better recovery of position sense or motor impairment compared to the group that just used visual feedback.