Effectiveness of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) as home-based therapy on Barthel Index in patients with chronic stroke.

Objective: The goal of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) on the Barthel Index (BI) scores in persons with stroke to assess dependency in survivers of stroke and to investigate the long-term effects of CIMT on dependency needs as measured by the BI, based on the hypothesis that CIMT as home-based therapy would be of significant benefit in stroke rehabilitation.

Methods: Twenty-seven participants, 16 men with a mean age of 58 (+/- 10.8) and 4 women with a mean age of 60 (+/- 6.3), participated in the study as an experimental group, and 17 participants, 12 men with a mean age of 58 (+/- 9.7) and 5 women with a mean age of 55 (+/-11.8), participated as a control group. The experimental/treatment group received traditional therapy with the CIMT where the intact contralateral upper limb was placed in a removable cast for 6 hours a day during waking hours for 4 weeks. The control group received traditional therapy only. Both groups were assessed using the BI on admission and on discharge from rehabilitation. In addition, 18 participants (14 male and 4 female), 64% of the experimental group, were reevaluated using the BI for the long-term benefits of CIMT on dependency.

Results: Using unpaired t test (SPSS version 15), statistically significant improvement was noted in the BI for the experimental group compared to the control group. After 6 months follow-up, BI was 96.3 +/- 2.7, indicating that the obtained gains were maintained at 6 months post discharge, compared to their BI score at 4 weeks (68.2 +/- 3.8) post CIMT (p value < .005).

Conclusion: Following stroke, patients who received CIMT every day for 4 weeks in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation therapy showed significant changes in the BI upon discharge and this positive outcome was preserved after 6 months follow-up. This improvement indicates an overall significant improvement in ADL status for patients who received CIMT and has implications for future use in stroke rehabilitation as home-based therapy for stroke rehabilitation.