Abstract
Objective: Music-supported therapy was shown to induce improvements in motor skills in stroke survivors. Whether all stroke individuals respond similarly to the intervention and whether gains can be maintained over time remain unknown. We estimated the immediate and retention effects of a piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke.Methods: Thirteen stroke participants engaged in a 3-week piano training comprising supervised sessions (9 × 60 min) and home practice. Fine and gross manual dexterity, movement coordination, and functional use of the upper extremity were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a 3-week follow-up.Results: Significant improvements were observed for all outcomes at post-intervention and follow-up compared to pre-intervention scores. Larger magnitudes of change in manual dexterity and functional use of the upper extremity were associated with higher initial levels of motor recovery.Conclusion: Piano training can result in sustainable improvements in upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors. Individuals with a higher initial level of motor recovery at baseline appear to benefit the most from this intervention.
Highlights
Most stroke survivors experience upper extremity impairments (Hendricks et al, 2002) that can result in persistent activity and participation limitations
Larger magnitudes of change in manual dexterity and functional use of the upper extremity were associated with higher initial levels of motor recovery
Piano training can result in sustainable improvements in upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors
Summary
Most stroke survivors experience upper extremity impairments (Hendricks et al, 2002) that can result in persistent activity and participation limitations. Existing approaches for upper extremity rehabilitation have been shown to yield modest to moderate improvements (Van Peppen et al, 2004), possibly due to insufficient training intensity and treatment adherence. Current literature on motor learning and recovery indicates that interventions should be meaningful, task-specific, tailored to the person’s capacity and interests, and provide sufficient repetition and challenge to induce training effects (Van Peppen et al, 2004; Hubbard et al, 2009). Rehabilitation interventions can further take advantage of multi-sensory feedback to provide knowledge of results and/or performance (Cirstea and Levin, 2007). MST was shown to yield improvements in manual dexterity in both acute and chronic stroke survivors
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