The influences of the mental practice on the quality of life of the stroke patients.
JuHyung Park
PMID 28932000WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke patients who added 10 minutes of arm-focused mental practice to occupational therapy for 4 weeks reported greater total quality-of-life scores than controls, especially in self-care and upper-extremity function.
Small trial.
Key findings
01The total quality-of-life score after treatment was 164.28 in the mental-practice group and 154.59 in the control group, with a reported p<0.05 difference.
02Post-treatment self-care and upper-extremity function scores were 16.29 and 18.39 in the mental-practice group, compared with 12.86 and 16.42 in controls, and these items were marked p<0.05.
03Most quality-of-life items did not show significant results.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study had 32 patients from Hospital D, and the authors say the small number makes generalising difficult. The groups differed in age and time since stroke onset, 62 ± 5.9 versus 67 ± 7.2 years and 13 ± 8.9 versus 22 ± 19.2 months, and the authors say factors that could influence quality of life were not controlled. The report does not describe how randomisation was done, whether participants or assessors were blinded, or whether anyone dropped out. The mental-practice group received occupational therapy plus mental practice, while the control group received occupational therapy plus physical therapy, so the added benefit of mental practice alone cannot be separated. The total quality-of-life score, self-care and upper-extremity function were reported as significant, but most quality-of-life items were not.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mental practice alone caused the improvement. The mental-practice group also received occupational therapy, while the control group received occupational therapy and physical therapy, and the study was small with baseline differences between groups.