Critical appraisals

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Motor function improvement with mirror therapy in stroke patients: a CAT

Terapia de espejo para mejorar la función motora en sujetos con accidente vascular cerebral: CAT

Abstract

Introduction
Stroke comprises several conditions characterized by sudden, non-convulsive loss of neurological function. A large percentage of individuals who survive stroke will have limb motor sequelae.

Aim
To assess the validity and applicability of the results regarding the effectiveness of mirror therapy in patients with stroke and answer the following question: In stroke subjects, can mirror therapy improve motor function?

Method
We analyzed the article "Mirror therapy for improving motor function after stroke," Cochrane Systematic Review [Thieme 20121].

Results
Mirror therapy may increase motor function between the second and sixth week of intervention, with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of 0.61 (95% CI 0.22-1.00).

Conclusion
Despite methodological limitations of the primary studies included in the systematic review, we found that mirror therapy is a reasonable adjunct to standard therapy by physiotherapists.