ABSTRACT

Objective : This case study examined the effectiveness of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) in relation to quality of life in person with hemiparetic stroke.Methods : Constraint-induced movement therapy consisted of 3～4 hours of daily upper-limb training for 10 months at the hospital and home(from Nobemver 17, 2003 to August 21, 2003). Restrictive splint was worn on the nonparetic limb during waking hours. Outcomes were evaluated Jebsen Hand Function Test, SS-QOL, and COPM.Results : As a result, CIMT led to the functional enhancement of the patients’ upper limbs. It also had positive impacts on their execution and satisfaction of occupational performance. The family program turned out to contribute to the ongoing improvement of the patients’ upper limbs and thus to the continuation of the therapy’s effects. Finally, the treatment was effective in improving the quality of life of the stroke patients.Conclusion : Future treatments and studies need to contain the confirmation process, which will encourage the active participation and performance of the family, who has an important influence on the therapy. In addition, motives and psychological variables should be included in the studies. And verification efforts should be made in future studies of the indexes of stroke patients’ quality of life since those indexes have not been verified in the nation in terms of reliability and validity.