Imaginería motora: revisión sistemática de su efectividad en la rehabilitación de la extremidad superior tras un ictus

Abstract

Motor imagery or mental practice of movement is a relatively new intervention that is being used on an increasingly more frequently basis in the treatment of stroke patients. It consists in the person evoking a movement or gesture in order to learn or improve its execution. Neuroimaging studies have shown that imagining movements activates neuronal patterns that are similar to those produced when they are actually performed. A systematic review was conducted between January and June 2017 in the Web of Science, PubMed, CINHAL, PEDro and Scopus databases to select clinical trials carried out with stroke patients in whom this technique was used as rehabilitation. Thirteen randomised clinical trials were included. The characteristics of the studies and the measures of results were summarised and the evidence of their outcomes was described. Most of the studies found significant differences in terms of improved motor rehabilitation of the upper limb among the subjects in the experimental groups. Only one of the studies failed to show any evidence of its effectiveness in isolation. None of them made any reference to its effectiveness in improving sensory alterations. Motor imagery, combined with conventional therapy (physiotherapy or occupational therapy), seems to have positive effects on the motor rehabilitation of the upper limb following a stroke. Further research is needed to improve the heterogeneity of the interventions and to evaluate their effectiveness in the long term.