Feasibility of a Home-Based Mirror Therapy Program in Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Neurology
• Occupational Therapy

Background:

• Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy (US CP) causes motor and sensory impairments affecting one side of the body, negatively impacting children's upper limb function, bimanual performance, and quality of life.
• Intensive home-based therapies, particularly those involving family coaching, have shown feasibility for managing US CP.
• Mirror Therapy (MT) is being explored as a suitable intensive, home-based therapeutic approach for children with US CP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of a five-week home-based Mirror Therapy (MT) program for children with US CP, incorporating therapist coaching.
• To evaluate compliance rates, total therapy dosage, perceived exercise difficulty, and participant retention.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of six children aged 8-12 years with US CP participated in the home-based MT program.
• Therapy was conducted for 30 minutes daily, five days a week, for five weeks, requiring at least 80% compliance.
• Feasibility was measured through compliance, dosage, perceived difficulty (scale 0-10), and follow-up rates.

Main Results:

• All six participants completed the therapy, achieving an 86.47% ± 7.67% completion rate, exceeding the 80% compliance requirement.
• The perceived difficulty of the MT exercises ranged from 2.37 to 4.51 on a 10-point scale, indicating manageable challenges.
• No participants were lost to follow-up, demonstrating high engagement and adherence to the home-based program.

Conclusions:

• A five-week home-based Mirror Therapy program, supported by therapist coaching, is a safe, cost-effective, and feasible intervention for children with US CP.
• The therapy's feasibility is enhanced by the therapist's role as a coach throughout the program.
• This approach offers a promising avenue for improving upper limb function and quality of life in children with US CP through accessible home-based rehabilitation.