Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Mirror Therapy Using Gesture Recognition for Upper Limb Function, Neck Discomfort, and Quality of Life After Chronic Stroke: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.
BACKGROUND Mirror therapy for stroke patients was reported to be effective in improving upper-extremity motor function and daily life activity performance. In addition, game-based virtual reality can be realized using a gesture recognition (GR) device, and various tasks can be presented. Therefore, this study investigated changes in upper-extremity motor function, quality of life, and neck discomfort when using a GR device for mirror therapy to observe the upper extremities reflected in the mirror. ⋯ RESULTS Upper-extremity function, depression, and quality of life in the GR mirror therapy group were significantly better than in the control group. The changes of neck discomfort in the conventional mirror therapy and control groups were significantly greater than in the GR mirror therapy group. CONCLUSIONS We found that GR device-based mirror therapy is an intervention that improves upper-extremity function, neck discomfort, and quality of life in patients with chronic stroke.