LAUSR

Introduction Motor function after stroke is improved after mirror therapy. During mirror therapy, a mirror is placed in the mid-sagittal plane thus reflecting movements of non-paretic side as if it were the affected side. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of mirror therapy on upper extremity motor recovery and hand related functioning of patients with sub-acute stroke. Method A total of 60 patients with stroke were randomly selected, all within 6 months post stroke, with 30 patients in each, experimental and control group. Each day, 30 min of mirror therapy was given to patients in experimental group consisting of wrist and finger flexion and extension movements in addition to conventional stroke rehabilitation program, 6 days a week, 1 h a day for 4 weeks, while those in control group didn't receive mirror therapy program. Main Outcome Measures- The Brunnstrom stages of motor recovery & Hand- related functioning (Self-care items of FIM instrument) Results Mean age of the patients was 55 years. The scores of the Brunnstrom stages for hand and upper extremity and FIM self - care score improved more in experimental group than in control group after 4 weeks of treatment (by 0.81, 0.86 and 4.1 respectively; all P  Conclusion Hand functioning improved more after mirror therapy compared with control group after 4 weeks of treatment and at 6 month follow up.