Electromyographic feedback treatment of chronic hemiparesis: an attempt to quantify treatment effects

The efficacy of electromyographic (EMG) feedback for the treatment of chronic upper extremity hemiparesis was quantitatively assessed through a series of objective and standardized tests of motor skills given to 12 stroke patients before and after treatment. In addition to standardized tests, video recordings of patient performance during simple motor tasks were made before and after EMG feedback training to permit subjective ratings of patient performance. Only six patients were able to perform the standardized tests of motor skills in a way permitting meaningful evaluation of results, and their test scores showed no significant improvement after treatment. Ratings of the video records by 37 independent physical therapists showed that some improvement of gross motor performance could be observed at the level of subjective global evaluation.