Highlights
- •Unilateral strength training resulted in modulation of cortical excitability in patients with subacute stroke.
- •Unilateral strength training combined with conventional physiotherapy was more effective in improving cortical excitability and clinical outcomes.
- •These findings support the notion that modulation of cortical excitability facilitates motor recovery.
Abstract
Objectives
To investigate whether unilateral strength training helps improve cortical excitability
and clinical outcomes after stroke.
Design
Randomized controlled trial.
Setting
Rehabilitation sciences research center.
Participants
Patients with subacute stroke (N=26) were randomly assigned to a control group (n=13)
or the experimental group (n=13).
Interventions
Participants in both groups received conventional physiotherapy. The experimental
group also received unilateral strength training of the less affected wrist extensors.
Interventions were applied for 4 weeks (12 sessions, 3 d/wk).
Main Outcome Measures
Cortical excitability in both the ipsilesional hemisphere (ipsiH) and contralesional
hemisphere (contraH) was assessed by measuring resting motor threshold (RMT), active
motor threshold (AMT), motor evoked potential (MEP), and cortical silent period (CSP)
at baseline and after the 4-week intervention period. Clinical outcomes were obtained
by evaluating wrist extension strength in both the more affected and less affected
hands, upper extremity motor function, activities of daily living (ADL), and spasticity.
Results
The experimental group showed greater MEP amplitude (P=.001) in the ipsiH and shorter CSP duration in both the ipsiH (P=.042) and contraH (P=.038) compared with the control group. However, the reductions in RMT and AMT in
both hemispheres were not significantly different between groups. Improvements in
wrist extension strength in the more affected (P=.029) and less affected (P=.001) hand, upper extremity motor function (P=.04), and spasticity (P=.014) were greater in the experimental group. No significant difference in ADLs was
detected between groups.
Conclusions
A combination of unilateral strength training and conventional physiotherapy appears
to be a beneficial therapeutic modality for improving cortical excitability and some
clinical outcomes in patients with stroke.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ADL (activities of daily living), AMT (active motor threshold), contraH (contralesional hemisphere), CSE (corticospinal excitability), CSP (cortical silent period), ECR (extensor carpi radialis), EMG (electromyography), FMA (Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment), ipsiH (ipsilesional hemisphere), MBI (Modified Barthel Index), MEP (motor evoked potential), MCID (minimally clinically important difference), M1 (primary motor cortex), MMAS (Modified Modified Ashworth scale), MRC (Medical Research Council), MSO (maximum stimulator output), MVIC (maximal voluntary isometric contraction), RMT (resting motor threshold), TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), UE (upper extremity)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 15, 2021
Footnotes
Supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran (grant no. 94-01-0611135).
Disclosures: none.
Clinical Trial Registration No.: IRCT2016102430477N1.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
