The Effects of Bilateral Arm Training on Motor Control and Functional Performance in Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Study

Background. Most studies of bilateral arm training (BAT) did not employ a randomized controlled trial design and involved very limited functional training tasks. Objective . Compare the effects of BAT with control intervention (CI) on motor control and motor performance of the upper extremity and also functional gains in patients with chronic stroke. Methods. This 2-group randomized controlled trial with pretreatment and posttreatment measures enrolled 33 stroke patients (mean age = 53.85 years) 6 to 67 months after onset of a first stroke. They received either a BAT program concentrating on both upper extremities moving simultaneously in functional tasks by symmetric patterns or CI (control treatment) for 2 hours on weekdays for 3 weeks. Outcome measures included kinematic analyses assessing motor control strategies for unilateral and bimanual reaching and clinical measures involving the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) of motor-impairment severity and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the Motor A...