Motor imagery and mental practice in the subacute and chronic phases in upper limb rehabilitation after stroke: a systematic review

Villa-Berges, Enrique (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Laborda Soriano, Ana Alejandra (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Lucha-López,Orosia (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Tricas-Moreno, José Miguel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Hernández-Secorún, Mar (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gómez-Martínez, Miguel ; Hidalgo-García, César (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Introduction. Motor imagery and mental practice can be defined as a continuous mechanism in which the subject tries to emulate a movement using cognitive processes, without actually performing the motor action. The objective of this review was to analyse and check the efficacy of motor imagery and/or mental practice as a method of rehabilitating motor function in patients that have
suffered a stroke, in both subacute and chronic phases. Material and Methods. We performed a bibliographic search from 2009 to 2021 in the following databases, Medline (PubMed), Scopus, WOS, Cochrane, and OTSeeker. The search focused on randomized clinical trials in which the main subject was rehabilitating motor function of the upper limb in individuals that had suffered a
stroke in subacute or chronic phases. Results. We analysed a total of 11 randomized clinical trials, with moderate and high methodological quality according to the PEDro scale. Most of the studies on subacute and chronic stages obtained statistically significant short-term results, between pre- and postintervention, in recovering function of the upper limb. Conclusions. Motor imagery and/or mental practice, combined with conventional therapy and/or with other techniques, can be effective in the short term in recovering upper limb motor function in patients that have suffered a stroke. More studies are needed to analyse the efficacy of this intervention during medium- and long-term follow-up.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1155/2023/3752889

Año: 2023

Publicado en: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL 2023, 3752889 (2023), [12 pp.]
ISSN: 0966-7903

Factor impacto JCR: 1.3 (2023)

Categ. JCR: REHABILITATION rank: 106 / 169 = 0.627 (2023) - Q3 - T2
Categ. JCR: REHABILITATION rank: 106 / 169 = 0.627 (2023) - Q3 - T2

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.421 - Occupational Therapy (Q2) - Medicine (miscellaneous) (Q3)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Enfermería (Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería)
Área (Departamento): Área Fisioterapia (Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería)