NCT06794749

Action Observation Therapy in Chronic Stroke

Investigation of the Effect of Action Observation Therapy Applied With Telerehabilitation Method on Upper Extremity Functions, Daily Living Activities and Quality of Life in Chronic Stroke Patients

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 26 (actual)
• Sponsor: Karabuk University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Functional impairment in the upper extremities is one of the most common sequelae in stroke patients. It significantly limits the patients' grasping-releasing functions and, consequently, their activities of daily living (ADL), such as eating - drinking, dressing, and self-care. Action Observation Training (AOT), performed by observing simple actions frequently used in ADL and then imitating the observed actions, reduces interhemispheric inhibition and allows the elimination of impairments in upper extremity motor function and relearning of functions in chronic stroke patients. This study aims to investigate the effects of telerehabilitation and face-to-face AOT application on upper extremity functions, activities of daily living, and quality of life in chronic stroke patients and to question whether there are differences between the short- and long-term effects of these two AOT applications.

Detailed description

Stroke is defined as a neurological picture caused by focal damage to the central nervous system due to vascular problems such as cerebral infarction or intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage. Functional impairment in the upper extremities is one of the most common sequelae in stroke patients. It significantly limits the patients' grasping-releasing functions and, consequently, their activities of daily living (ADL), such as eating - drinking, dressing, and self-care. Action Observation Therapy (AOT), which is performed by observing simple actions frequently used in ADL and then imitating the observed actions, is a rehabilitation approach used in recent years to improve upper limb functions in the rehabilitation of stroke and various neurological diseases. It is stated that AOT reduces interhemispheric inhibition and allows the elimination of impairments in motor function and relearning of functions. Telerehabilitation is the remote delivery of rehabilitation services through telecommunication technology. Telerehabilitation provides important advantages, such as difficulty transferring the patient to the health center, where the rehabilitation process takes a long time, travel time, and travel costs in stroke patients. In the literature review, no study was found comparing the effect of the AOT with the telerehabilitation method and face-to-face application on the patient's upper extremity functions, activities of daily living, and quality of life in the rehabilitation of patients with chronic stroke. In addition, to our knowledge, there is no study examining the long-term effects of AOT, which has been the subject of a limited number of studies.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Action Observation Therapy	Patients received general physiotherapy in addition to action observation therapy (AOT) via telerehabilitation method for 5 weeks, 3 days a week. AOT was applied to patients as a single session per day and lasted 30 minutes. General physiotherapy session was applied face to face for 45 minutes.
OTHER	Control	Patients received general physiotherapy in addition to action observation therapy (AOT) via face-to-face telerehabilitation method for 5 weeks, 3 days a week. AOT was applied to patients as a single session per day and lasted 30 minutes. General physiotherapy session was applied face-to-face for 45 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-01-22
• Primary completion: 2025-07-25
• Completion: 2025-08-05
• First posted: 2025-01-27
• Last updated: 2026-02-04

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)