Effect of home-based rehabilitation of purposeful activity-based electrical stimulation therapy for chronic stroke survivors: a crossover randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: In this trial we combined the effect of purposeful activity and electrical stimulation therapy (PA-EST) to promote transition of severely hemiparetic upper limb to auxiliary upper limb in chronic stroke survivors in a single-case study. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of PA-EST on the upper limb motor function in a crossover randomized controlled trial. METHODS: The study included eight stroke survivors (age: 63.1±10.9 years) who were receiving home-based visiting occupational therapy. The average time since stroke onset was 8.8±5.6 years. All participants had severely hemiparetic upper limb, with the Fugl–Meyer Assessment upper extremity (FMA-U) score of 21.3±8.5. Participants were randomly assigned to group A or B. Group A received PA-EST for 3 months (phase 1), followed by standard stretching and exercise for 3 months (phase 2), whereas group B had the inverse order of treatments. To avoid carry-over effect, 1-month washout period was provided between the phase 1 and 2. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used for the analysis. The primary outcome was FMA-U, and the secondary outcomes were, Motor Activity Log (MAL; amount of use [AOU] and quality of movement [QOM]), and Goal attainment scale-light (GAS-light). RESULTS: Repeated measures-ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between type of intervention and time for FMA-U (F = 16.303, P = 0.005), MAL AOU (F = 7.966, P = 0.026) and QOM (F = 6.408, P = 0.039), and GAS-light (F = 6.905, P = 0.034), where PA-EST was associated with significantly improved motor function and goal achievement compared with standard stretching. CONCLUSIONS: The PA-EST may have greater effects than stretch/exercise in the recovery of hand function as reflected in FMA-U, MAL, and GAS-light. Our results suggest that PA-EST is an important and useful home-based rehabilitation program for promoting the use of the severely hemiparetic upper limb in chronic stroke survivors.