An Exploration of the Effectiveness of Different Intensity Protocols of Modified Constraint-Induced Therapy in Stroke: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: To examine the effectiveness of different modified Constraint-Inuced Therapy (mCIMT) protocol intensities on upper extremity motor function in adults with hemiplegia.

METHODS: A search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library for articles published between April 2010 and December 2021. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Studies were excluded if they used a sample of less than five, mCIMT in combination with other therapy, and/or if they were not written in English. Methodologic quality was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration risk of bias tool-2.

RESULTS: Thirty-six RCTs with a total of 721 participants were included. Most researchers followed a moderate to low protocol intensity in terms of total treatment time and moderate to high intensity with regard to restriction time. Almost all of the upper limb motor function measures showed statistically significant improvements ( p < .05) after mCIMT, irrespective of the protocol's intensity, but there was lack of high-quality studies. Statistically significant improvements did not always translate to clinical importance.

CONCLUSIONS: Low-intensity CIMT protocols may result in comparable improvements to more intensive ones but caution has to be taken when drawing conclusions due to high risk of bias studies.