Early and repetitive stimulation of the arm can substantially improve the long-term outcome after stroke: a 5-year follow-up study of a randomized trial.

Background And Purpose: Several studies have investigated the effect of therapeutic interventions for the arm in the acute phase after stroke, with follow-ups at a maximum of 12 months. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of repetitive sensorimotor training of the arm at 5 years after stroke.

Subjects And Methods: One hundred consecutive stroke patients were randomly allocated either to an experimental group that received daily additional sensorimotor stimulation of the arm or to a control group.

Chedoke-McMaster stroke assessment and modified Barthel Index self-assessment in patients with vascular brain damage.

With the conception of interdisciplinary and joint rehabilitation, and the adherence to impairment, activity and participation as rehabilitation goals, a comparison of assessment instruments that use different perspectives (professional, lay person, patient) and are employed by different professional groups addressing different issues such as in occupational therapy and in physical therapy, is required. The clinical admission-discharge assessment of the Chedoke-McMaster stroke assessment and the Barthel index data of 127 vascular brain-damaged patients, including patients with other neurological disorders, were compared. The German language version of these instruments proved highly reliable; the factorial structure indicated, with a few exceptions, the conceptualized dimensions and the Barthel index contributed to this structure with an additional dimension of drinking and eating as well as a continence factor.