Bilateral arm training with rhythmic auditory cueing : rehabilitation metts music therapy

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on Bilateral Arm Training on movement accuracy and speed for survivors of stroke. Three participants underwent a six-week home training of drum playing in repetitive reaching movements, practicing for three hours a week. They were randomly assigned to the treatment group (Bilateral Arm Training with Rhythmic Auditory Cueing; n = 2) and control group (Bilateral Arm Training only; n= 1). Assessments of the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), tempo velocity, and spatial accuracy were performed at pre-, mid-, and post-training. All participants showed decreases in task performance times on the WMFT and improvements on the Functional Ability Scale, along with increased spatial accuracy. The treatment group maintained tempo velocity throughout the training but the non-cued participant moved slower at post- than at pre- and mid-assessment. Qualitative observations showed that the auditory-cued participants improved in movement quality through increased spatial alignment of the trunk and extension of the paretic arm, whereas the non-cued participant did not. Recommendations for future study as well as for designing home-training programs are given