Mirror Therapy Rehabilitation of the Upper Limb After Stroke (NEURO-MIROIR 2)

Hemiparesis is a common motor disorder after a stroke. The majority of patients do not recover functional use of their paretic upper limb.

The use of mirror therapy allows the activation of the mirror neurons involved to stimulate brain plasticity after brain damage.The IVS (Intensive Visual Stimulation) device allows an easy implementation of mirror therapy by filming the valid upper limb and projecting the inverted image onto a screen placed above the parietal arm thus producing the illusion of movement of the parietal arm.

The main hypothesis of this study is that the structured practice of a large number of upper limb targeted movement repetitions using an intensive visual numerical simulation device as a partial replacement for routine care (conventional occupational therapy) in the sub-acute phase of stroke will increase the active function (motor function and functional abilities) of the distal end of the upper limb compared to conventional rehabilitation.

Objectives: This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effects of partial substitution of routine care (occupational therapy) by structured movement repetition programs by Intensive Visual Simulation using an IVS3 device, on the distal motor control of the upper hemiparesis limb, between 4 and 10 weeks after the stroke, compared to a program with conventional care alone.