SELF – SUPPORT AND ARM FUNCTION RECOVERY APPLYING MIRROR REFLECTION THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH CEREBRAL INFARCT

Research goals: 1. To evaluate everyday activity and arm function disorders in the early stage of rehabilitation of patients with cerebral infarct; 2. To determine the effect of the mirror reflection therapy for regaining... [ view full abstract ]

Research goals:
1. To evaluate everyday activity and arm function disorders in the early stage of rehabilitation of patients with cerebral infarct; 2. To determine the effect of the mirror reflection therapy for regaining self-support and arm function recovery of patients with cerebral infarct in the early stage of rehabilitation; 3. To establish factors determining insufficient effect of mirror reflection therapy for patients after cerebral infarct in order to regain self-support and arm function.
Research methodology: persons for the research were selected using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Lovett scale. Persons, who at the beginning of the rehabilitation got 21 and more points after MMSE, and according to Lovett scale – 2-3 points, participated in the research. For the evaluation of arm function, Jebsen arm function test, dynamometry, manometer, and goniometer were used. For data analysis, seven tasks of this test were chosen, which accurately and quickly show the dominating arm function disorders, difficulties in everyday activity. Performance of everyday activities was evaluated using Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Each examined patient was evaluated twice. Primary evaluation of patients was carried out at the beginning of rehabilitation. Repetitive evaluation was carried out upon patients’ discharge from the rehabilitation department.
The research was carried out in Kaunas Clinical hospital Physical medicine and rehabilitation department. 60 persons after cerebral infarct participated in the research.