Mental practice is effective in upper limb recovery after stroke: a randomized single-blind cross-over study.

Abstract Aim: To investigate the role of Mental Practice (MP) in functional recovery of upper limbs in stroke patients. Methods: 36 hemiparetic stroke patients (15 women and 21 men) were enrolled in a randomized single blind cross-over study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, (A and B) each comprising 18 patients. Patients in group A underwent the conventional neuro-rehabilitation protocol (therapeutic exercise and occupational therapy) for three weeks (3 hours a day, 5 days a week) and in the following 3 weeks, they received an additional 60 minutes of Mental Practice training. Patients in group B, instead, underwent, in the first 3 weeks, the rehabilitation program plus Mental Practice training and in the following 3 weeks, only the conventional neurorehabilitation program. All patients were evaluated at baseline (T0), at 3 weeks (T1) and at 6 weeks (T2) with the Motricity Index (MI) and the Arm Functional Test (AFT). Results: At baseline (T0) there were no significant differences at MI and AFT between the two groups. At T1 the differences between the two groups became significant. At T2 the difference was once again minimal. Conclusion: Our results suggest that Mental Practice could be used to complement to the conventional neurorehabilitative treatments usually prescribed for post-stroke neuromotor recovery. However, there is still much to be tested and discussed regarding the role that Mental Practice might play in the treatment of neurological patients.