Effect of visual feedback assisted arm cycling training in improving the upper extremity function among the individuals with acute stroke - An Experimental study.

OBJECTIVE : Impaired upper limb function is the most common consequences of middle cerebral artery stroke, which limits the performance of activities of daily living. The motor recovery of the upper limb in hemiplegic stroke patients can be improved significantly by repetitive arm training at the initial phase of rehabilitation. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of visual feedback assisted arm cycling training in improving upper limb function among the individuals with acute stroke. STUDY DESIGN : Two groups Pre test – Post test experimental study design. PARTICIPANTS : Twenty middle cerebral artery acute stroke patients of both sexes between 40-65 years who meet the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly assigned into two groups, conventional physiotherapy group and arm cycling group. Each group contained 10 subjects. INTERVENTION : Both the groups were treated with conventional physiotherapy training for an 45 to 60 minutes a day, with arm cycling group received additional 30 minutes of arm cycling training. OUTCOME MEASURES : Upper limb function was assessed by Fugl-Meyer scale – upper limb component and Stream scale – upper limb component before the commencement and 3weeks after the training. RESULTS : At baseline subjects in both groups were closely similar. After the intervention both groups showed statistically significant differences on Fugl-Meyer and Stream scale. By comparing the mean value of improvement in both groups, arm cycling group showed more significant improvement than the conventional group in both outcome measurements. CONCLUSION : This study revealedthat there is significant improvement of arm cycling training in improving the upper limb function among the individuals with acute stroke