Mental Practice in Post-stroke Subjects

Influence of Mental Practice on Manual Dexterity Associated Before and After Physical Practice in Patients With Stroke Sequelae

Among the limitations caused by cerebrovascular accident (CVA), the upper limb (MS) undergoes changes that limit the individual in his ability to maintain an active social life. Mental Practice (MP) consists of the internal reproduction of an event, which is repeated extensively in order to learn or improve an already known skill. The objective of the study is evaluate the effects of the physical practice associated with PM, on paretic MS. Subjects with unilateral stroke over 6 months, age> 18 years and who were able to hold objects will be selected. Subjects with painful conditions that affected exercise performance,> 3 spasticity by Ashworth, and cognitive deficit suggested by the Mini Mental State Examination will be excluded.

There are 3 study protocols. The MP protocol 1 comprise 4 steps: 1) 5 minutes of global relaxation; 2) Video therapy, being 2 minutes / task (4 distinct tasks: stacking cubes, opposition of fingers with precision gripping, passing water from one glass to another, sequencing of bottles); 3) MP: think about the tasks assisted in the video for 5 minutes / task. 4) Physical Practice: reproduce through the motor execution, the activities assisted in the video (5 minutes / task). The MP protocol 2 was the same, changing the order: first physical practice and after MP. For the protocol 3 without PM, step 3 was suppressed, remaining the remaining steps. There were 15 sessions, 2x / week, for 1 hour. The Fugl-Meyer (FM) Scales, Ashworth Modified Scale (EMA), Functional Independence Measurement (MIF), Action Research Arm Test (ARAt), Box and block task (BBT) and Theory of mind battery (ToM) will be applied before and after the sessions, and in 3 months follow-up.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of stroke, ischemic or hemorrhagic, for more than 6 months, age above 18 years, unilateral involvement and are able to hold objects

Exclusion Criteria:

• Painful conditions that affect the ability to perform the proposed exercises, spasticity greater than 3 by the Ashworth Scale and cognitive deficits that will be evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE)