Functional improvement of the paralyzed hand by infrequent day-care rehabilitation in severe post-stroke hemiplegia:

A case study

Abstract

In this study, we intervened in a case of severe upper limb dysfunction in chronic stroke patients using day-care rehabilitation by combining botulinum therapy with task-oriented exercises and a transfer package similar to constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy). After one year of 20-minute interventions twice a week, the motor function, frequency of use, and degree of spasticity of the paralyzed hand improved beyond the measurement error. In addition, the amount of botulinum therapy administered decreased, and the interval between injections increased. The results suggest that appropriate interventions, even at a low frequency, can improve severe upper limb paralysis in the chronic phase.