Objective: Assessment of the effectiveness of constraint-induced (CI) movem
ent therapy and quantitative evaluation of the effects of CI therapy.
Design: Intervention study; case series; pretreatment to posttreatment meas
ures and follow-up 3 months after intervention.
Setting: An outpatient department.
Patients: Five chronic stroke patients with moderate motor deficit; conveni
ence sample.
Interventions: CT therapy consisting of restraint of the unaffected upper e
xtremity in a sling for 14 days combined with 6 hours of training per weekd
ay of the affected upper extremity.
Main Outcome Measures: Actual Amount of Use Test (AAUT), Motor Activity Log
(MAL), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), and Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT).
Results: There was a substantial improvement in the performance times of th
e laboratory tests (AMAT, WMFT, p less than or equal to.039) and in the qua
lity of movement (AMAT, WMFT, p less than or equal to.049; MAL, p =.049), p
articularly in the use of the extremity in "real world" environments (AAUT,
p =.020), supported by results of quantitative evaluation. The effect size
s were large and comparable to those found in previous studies of CI therap
y.
Conclusions: CI therapy is an efficacious treatment for chronic stroke pati
ents, especially in terms of real world outcome. (C) 1999 by the American C
ongress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academic of Physical Me
dicine and Rehabilitation.