Proprioceptive Based Training for stroke recovery. Proposal of new treatment modality for rehabilitation of upper limb in neurological diseases

Background: The central nervous system (CNS) has plastic properties allowing its adaptation through development. These properties are still maintained in the adult age and potentially activated in case of brain lesion. In the present study authors hypothesized that a significant recovery of voluntary muscle contraction in post stroke patients experiencing severe upper limb paresis can be obtained, when proprioceptive based stimulations are provided. Proprioceptive based training (PBT) is based on performing concurrent movements with both unaffected and affected arm, with the aim to foster motor recovery through some mutual connections of interhemispheric and transcallosal pathways. The aim of this pre-post pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of PBT on recovery of voluntary muscle contraction in subacute phase after stroke.

Methods: The treatment lasted 1 h daily, 5 days per week for 3 weeks. The PBT consisted of multidirectional exercises executed synchronously with unaffected limb and verbal feedback. The Medical Research Council scale (MRC), Dynamometer, Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity scale (F-M UE), Functional Independence Measure scale (FIM) and modified Ashworth scale were administered at the beginning and at the end of training. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: Six patients with severe paresis of the upper limb within 6 months after stroke were enrolled in the study (5 ischemic and 1 hemorrhagic stroke, 3 men and 3 women, mean age 65.7 ± 8.7 years, mean distance from stroke 4.1 ± 1.5 months) and all of them well tolerated the training. The clinical changes of voluntary muscle contraction after PBT were statistically significant at the MRC scale overall (p = 0.028), and dynamometer assessment overall (p = 0.028). Each patient improved muscle contraction of one or more muscles and in 4 out of 6 patients voluntary active movement emerged after therapy. The functional outcomes (i.e. F-M UE and FIM) did not show significant change within group.

Conclusions: The findings of this preliminary research revealed that PBT may be a feasible intervention to improve the motricity of upper limb in stroke survivors.