Mirror Therapy for Stroke Patients

Mirror therapy is a cognitive and vision-based treatment method that stimulates the brain and improves motor function in stroke patients. This article explores the effectiveness of mirror therapy in treating paralysis caused by stroke, discussing the results of various studies on the topic. It highlights the positive impact of mirror therapy on motor function and emphasizes the need for further research in this area.

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MIRROR THERAPY
Student’s Name
Student ID
BACHELOR OF COMMUNITY HEALTH

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Results..............................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Other than the known conventional methods to rehabilitate patients who have suffered a
stroke, mirror therapy forms one the best alternative to adequately address the concerns of these
patients. In this process, it is known to facilitate the recovery of patients through a mental
process as he or she will try to move his or her unaffected limb alongside having the picture at
the back of the mind, this stimulates the brain to encourage the similar act to the affected side of
the leg. Therefore, the process of mirror therapy is cognitive involved and vision stimuli. The
objective of this report will dwell primarily on how viable is mirror therapy to the effective
treatment of partially paralyzed patient after they have suffered stroke.
The mirror therapy will revolve around how neurons are improved within the body to
carry efficient functions. Paralysis is a problem for patients who were previously attacked by
stroke, and in this condition, they get paralyzed as a result. For these patients to recover, they are
put under the rehabilitation process with the application of mirror therapy as a treatment method
(Thieme et al., 2018, p7).
Results
Stroke, just like other health dysfunction, has a serious health problem to human lives.
Many adults suffer from its impacts of loss of the motor function and the body movement. It
attacks the brain, and this can occur uncontrollably at an unpredictable time but mainly when the
blood stops flowing to the area of the brain. Stroke causes the deficiency in oxygen supply;
hence the beginning of the brain cells to die. Automatically, the functions controlled by the part
of the brain affected such as the muscles and memory got lost. The stroke can damage different

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part of the brain, and this determines the degree of the effect on the patient (Kim et al, 2016
p483).
As mentioned above, the occurrence of stroke can cause paralysis to the body. The
disease mainly characterized by the loss of the function of muscle in the part of the human body.
It takes place when there is improper information relay that occurs between the muscles and the
brain, but it is also limited to one part as well. In addressing this challenge, there have been some
studies which have been conducted to come into a conclusion of the best way to overcome the
impact posed by the disease. One of the studies was to analyze how Pilates exercise impact
between the dynamic and static balance among these patients of stroke. It takes into
consideration nineteen patients with the stroke characterized by unilateral hemiparetic. Each was
placed to the group of Pilate exercise randomly. They were subjected to exercise for about 24
times, and the results were recorded in terms of center of pressure sway and center of pressure
velocity, this was after and before the exercise was conducted. The results were posted and a
positive indicator of how Pilate exercises impact on both balances was significantly shown. It is
confirmed that Pilate exercise shows an adjustment on both dynamic and static balance for stroke
patients (Novaes, et al. 2013, p 966-9).
The other study that involved mirror visual feedback therapy together with stimulation of
electric identified for hemiparesis patients is another means of treatment. The unclear effect of
neurophysiological shows the irony of the mirror visual therapy test. This experiment was taken
to include about eighteen people who are in good health. The changes in oxygen in the brain
were taken into consideration, and it involved working near-infrared spectroscopy. The factors
like mark observation, hand displacement, and right hand were monitored. The results posted

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here indicate that there is an activation of the postcentral gyrus with movements being observed
through the mirror (Novaes, et al. 2013, p 966-9).
Additionally, there is the study to check the brain function under the watch of mirror
therapy, and this is to take into consideration muscle activation among the stroke patient. Mental
practice that requires constant brain rehearsal for physical training with no change of location is
referred to as motor imagery. The three factors that involved psychiatric exercise, motor
imagery, and mirror therapy plays a role in muscle improvement especially those affected on the
limbs. In this study, there is an emphasis on how muscles of those affected by a stroke can be
activated. The findings record no necessary change when mental practice and mental practice
with mirror therapy (p=0.02). The result found was both in the unaffected and the affected legs.
The immediate response to muscle activation is shown when mental practice and mental practice
with psychological therapy are rolled. All the treatments indicated the same muscle work (Arya,
2016, p 38).
A similar study that examines mirror therapy and its role in motor function among the
patients of stroke is also conducted. It is done by a mirror being placed in a midsagittal plane of
the patient, and the movement is read from the unaffected side and copied by the affected party.
In 14 studies conducted on the same case with 567 participants to relate the mirror therapy with a
specific intervention, mirror therapy confirmed to show a more favorable result concerning other
interventions to improve the function of the motor. The study, therefore, established that mirror
therapy could be another intervention to be used to treat a stroke patient. Most importantly, it is
not concluded whether it is the best method to be used among stroke patients. Mirror therapy to
some extent can improve the working condition of these patients, but it requires precaution to
interpret (Arya, 2016, p 38).

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Mirror therapy was also subjected to controlled experiment to check its performance on
movement, motor function, recovery of sensory and lastly to monitor the stroke patients of their
daily activities. After the study, there was an overall performance of the stroke victims on all the
above parameters. Further, the conclusion was reached to indicate a beneficial impact of mirror
therapy on the stated indicators like movement performance, controlling motor, and sensing of
the body temperature. A contrary result was found when assessing the daily activities of patients
who have suffered from a stroke (Thieme, et al 2013).
In the randomized controlled experiment that analyses the effects of mirror therapy on the
manner of walking of people of subacute stroke, a comprehensive rehabilitation therapy was
conducted to these patients. Some underwent sham therapy as the ones under control while
others were taken through extensive rehabilitation. There was a significant change observed after
the test among the distinct group of analysis. This showed that mirror therapy is an essential
method of rehabilitating those patients who suffered a stroke (Thieme, et al 2013).
The above researches hold it that mirror therapy could help in dealing with the condition
of the paralysis as it considers the excellent condition of the affected parts of the body of the
patient. Mirror therapy, a treatment after an attack of stroke reduces the pain to patients. It
achieves this role through the use of the information set up of the visual feedback and the brain
function to send the data to the motor function from the unaffected side to the affected party to
copy. The rehabilitation of mirror therapy process is more effective at the early stage of stroke
treatment. It was confirmed that mirror therapy had been an effective method of treating stroke
recovery (Verma, et al 2012, p48).

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Discussion
Mirror therapy has gained more ground in use among stroke patients for their
rehabilitation and recovery. It has proved to help in the neuron improvement. In the two study
methods of functional magnetic resonance imaging and Transcranial magnetic stimulation used
in the experiment of fifteen survivors of stroke with the time interval of negative and positive
thirty minutes of a session of mirror therapy. The test recorded statistically vital rise in the post
– Mirror Therapy motor evoked potential amplitude from the affected primary motor cortex
(M1) when related to pre-Mirror Therapy. This experiment indicated that a single mirror therapy
introduced in the survivors of stroke corresponds to raise the motor evoked potential of the limb
with the challenge. Some stroke patients faced with the difficulty of walking while others do not
necessarily reach this stage of the walking problem. The patients undergo rehabilitation of
neurons to recover from gait as a process of stroke recovery (Wu et al. 2016, p. 1023-30).
Many studies have proved positive results in the application of Mirror Therapy. The
patients who are half sided paralyzed due to stroke responds well with the use of Mirror Therapy
positively. The human brain operates funnily in terms of controlling other parts of the body, the
left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. Mirror Therapy also
increases the expression of muscles endeavor to inactivate the affected limb. The patients who
are attacked by stroke, the mirror therapy rehabilitation process plays a superb role in enhancing
the condition of stroke and the neurological body works. The study has shown that stroke has
claimed high morbidity and mortality among the many persons globally (Kim et al, 2016 p483).
Many studies have shown the effectiveness of mirror therapy for improving upper
extremity after stroke attack to an individual. Also, the lower extremity analysis indicates
positive results for the enhancement of the lower limb by mirror therapy. Besides all the above

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successes investigative outcomes, the study is faced by challenges of a small sample and lack of
proper dissemination of information mostly couple with imaginary with no scientific proof. It has
confirmed that mainly paralysis of the legs is the characteristic of stroke infection and it affects
most day to day people's function. It is without a doubt that mirror therapy forms a rehabilitation
health program for patients who have suffered stroke dysfunction (Thieme, et al 2013).
In addition to the performed experiment, there are other 14 studies conducted with the
participants totaling to about 567 in contrary to mirror therapy characterized by an intervention
which are not similar and it gave a result which showed a significant value on paralytic and
motor functions. Scholars have used the findings of this research for several times which attract
over 239 citations and a download of above 731 times online. It indicates how the mirror therapy
improves motor therapy (Arya, 2016, p 38). The problem of gait among the patient has been
solved by mirror therapy as one of the rehabilitation programs to neurons of patients who have
suffered from a stroke.
Lastly, in the study to understand the changes that occur in the neuron after the mirror
therapy test of patients of chronic ischemic stroke, it is found to indicate significance in the
statistic in the post-mirror therapy motor evoked potential amplitude. These were mainly from
the affected patients in the primary motor. The study further suggested that a single mirror
therapy in the patients with stroke correspond to a more motor evoked potential of the part
affected (Novaes, et al. 2013, p 966-9).
The use of mirror therapy on the individuals who have been under the challenge of stroke
attack shows a positive recovery response. Therefore, mirror therapy has gained more attention

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in its application to the patients of stroke. It has not indicated any adverse effect of its use to
patients, and so it scores the most effective method.
Conclusion
Mirror Therapy is a very effective method of treating the patients of stroke. Its
application is very promising to all individuals who have suffered from a stroke at the
appropriate time so that the factor of timely attention of treatment of disease achieved. Rapid
information dissemination coupled with quick response to the patients of stroke increases the
effectiveness of mirror therapy. This method has no other side effect to the patient on its
application. The experiments which have been conducted to test the efficacy of mirror therapy
have shown a statistical significance to the patients who suffer from stroke and mirror therapy
recovery method.
The patients recover slowly from stroke, and mirror therapy should be used widely to
help the individuals faced by a stroke. The individuals recover from vision stimuli to the brain
and send the information to the affected side of the limb to expertly cover what the unaffected
side of the leg does. This process of recovery under rehabilitation is slow, and the affected limb
side takes too long to be stable completely. The method of learning is through body rehearsal.
After this several attempts by the involved limb, it gets to use to thus the full recovery.
There also has no identification of the other possible means to address the challenges
post by a stroke. The shortcoming of this experiment is on the neural mechanism, which it has
not explored to a depth of leaving any further questions. The finding of this study cannot stand to
earn a full credit to the researchers of whether other interventions should halt at the expense of
mirror therapy. There is a recommendation of not to fully enforce mirror therapy since the

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conclusions considered on only four experiments. There should be a study which compares the
effects of other conventional methods towards stroke treatment against mirror therapy.
References
Arya, K.N., 2016. Underlying neural mechanisms of mirror therapy: Implications for motor
rehabilitation in stroke. Neurology India, 64(1), p.38.

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Cho, H.S. and Cha, H.G., 2015. Effect of mirror therapy with tDCS on functional recovery of the
upper extremity of stroke patients. Journal of physical therapy science, 27(4), pp.1045-
1047.
Ji, S.G. and Kim, M.K., 2015. The effects of mirror therapy on the gait of subacute stroke
patients: a randomized controlled trial. Clinical rehabilitation, 29(4), pp.348-354.
Novaes, M.M., Palhano-Fontes, F., Peres, A., Mazzetto-Betti, K., Pelicioni, M., Andrade, K.C.,
dos Santos, A.C., Pontes-Neto, O. and Araujo, D., 2018. Neurofunctional changes after a
single mirror therapy intervention in chronic ischemic stroke. International Journal of
Neuroscience, 128(10), pp.966-974.
Thieme, H., Mehrholz, J., Pohl, M., Behrens, J. and Dohle, C., 2013. Mirror therapy for
improving motor function after stroke. Stroke, 44(1), pp.e1-e2.
Verma, R., Arya, K.N., Sharma, P. and Garg, R.K., 2012. Understanding gait control in post-
stroke: implications for management. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies,
16(1), pp.14-21.
Wu, C.Y., Huang, P.C., Chen, Y.T., Lin, K.C. and Yang, H.W., 2013. Effects of mirror therapy
on motor and sensory recovery in chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial. Archives
of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 94(6), pp.1023-1030.