Functional ability development of the upper extremity with mirror therapy for stroke patients with hemiplegia

The purpose of this thesis was to find out the evidence based effects of mirror therapy for stroke patients with hemiplegia regarding to their functional ability of the upper extremity as a part of physiotherapy rehabilitation. The search for free full access articles was done by using these online databases; PubMed, Cochrane Library and ResearchGate. The aim was to find recent articles since 2009 in which six relevant studies were found and were rated using the PEDro scale. Mirror therapy was found to be a simple non pharmacological and cost effective method to improve the functional ability for a stroke patient suffering from hemiplegia of the upper extremity. It should be known that only six studies were included in this review due to the specific research strategy and further research is needed to determine the usefulness and effectiveness of mirror therapy regarding to improving functional ability for motor impairment post-stroke. Type of exercises and the protocol used in mirror therapy should be established and the expected outcome of the intervention