Effects of task-oriented training on dexterous movements of hands in post stroke patients

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the effect of task-oriented training on the dexterous movements of hands in Hemiplegic post-stroke patients.Methods: This study has been registered on site ClinicalTrial.gov with clinical trial number NCT05201196. The study was Randomized controlled trial, 18 patients were recruited that meet the inclusion criteria, randomly allocated to task-oriented training Group A (n = 9) and Conventional Therapy Group B (n = 9). Both exercise trainings were applied for 45 min/session, 5 times/week for 6 weeks. Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale Motor, sensory and coordination portion, Wolf Motor Function Scale and Barthel Index were used as outcome measures, assessed patients at Baseline, after 3 weeks and 6 weeks after training. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 23.Results: The results suggested the mean Age was 60.78 ± 9.08 and 61.33 ± 6.78 for Group A and Group B, respectively. Average BMI was 23.66 ± 2.66 for Task-oriented group and 21.36 ± 2.46 for Conventional group. Fugl-Meyer scale shows significant P-value 0.03 post treatment compare to pre-treatment which was .283, Wolf Motor Function test and Barthel Index also showed significant P-values as 0.023 and 0.007, respectively, indicating that Task-oriented training shows more significant improvements than conventional group.Conclusion: Task-based training produced statistically significant as well as clinically meaningful enhancement in the dexterous hand movements of acute and subacute stroke patients than conventional therapy and ultimately improves the functional independence in their daily activities such as feeding, bathing and hygiene.