• Eun Kyu Ji, Hae Hyun Wang, Sung June Jung, Kyoung Bo Lee, Joon Sung Kim, Leechan Jo, Bo Young Hong, and Seong Hoon Lim.
• Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Jan 22; 100 (3): e24351.

PurposeAlthough several types of occupational therapy for motor recovery of the upper limb in patients with chronic stroke have been investigated, most treatments are performed in a hospital or clinic setting. We investigated the effect of graded motor imagery (GMI) training, as a home exercise program, on upper limb motor recovery and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with stroke.MethodsThis prospective randomized controlled trial recruited 42 subjects with chronic stroke. The intervention group received instruction regarding the GMI program and performed it at home over 8 weeks (30 minutes a day). The primary outcome measure was the change in motor function between baseline and 8 weeks, assessed the Manual Function Test (MFT) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA). The secondary outcome measure was the change in ADL, assessed with the Modified Barthel Index (MBI).ResultsOf the 42 subjects, 37 completed the 8-week program (17 in the GMI group and 20 controls). All subjects showed significant improvements in the MFT, FMA, and MBI over time (P < .05). However, the improvements in the total scores for the MFT, FMA, and MBI did not differ between the GMI and control groups. The MFT arm motion score for the GMI group was significantly better than that of the controls (P < .05).ConclusionsThe GMI program may be useful for improving upper extremity function as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation for patients with chronic stroke.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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