What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to determine the effect of motor imagery combined with conventional therapy on upper-limb recovery and functional independence after stroke.

January 17, 2026MedicinaOpen Access

Stroke Neurorehabilitation and the Role of Motor Imagery Training: Do ARAT and Barthel Index Improvements Support Its Clinical Use? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Authors

LPLuis Polo-FerreroUniversidad de Salamanca JTJavier Torres-AlonsoUniversidad de Salamanca JSJuan Luis Sánchez-GonzálezUniversidad de Salamanca

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Implication

A systematic review evaluates motor imagery's effects on upper-limb recovery and independence post-stroke, suggesting limited benefits.

Key Points

This research aims to determine the effect of motor imagery combined with conventional therapy on upper-limb recovery and functional independence after stroke.
Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines.
Conducted comprehensive searches across six electronic databases up to July 2025.
Evaluated methodological quality using the PEDro scale and conducted risk of bias assessment with the Cochrane RoB 2 instrument.
Estimated pooled effect sizes for the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and Barthel Index (BI) using random-effects models.
Included eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total of 425 participants.
Observed a small improvement in ARAT (effect size = 0.25; p < 0.001), but this was non-significant after accounting for publication bias (effect size = 0.08).
No significant differences were noted for the Barthel Index (effect size = 0.41; p = 0.268), with high heterogeneity (I2 = 96.6%).
The mean PEDro score of 6.6 indicated moderate methodological quality.

Cite This Study

Polo-Ferrero et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/696b2696d2a12237a9349d20 https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010174

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Stroke Neurorehabilitation and the Role of Motor Imagery Training: Do ARAT and Barthel Index Improvements Support Its Clinical Use? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Cite This Study

Stroke Neurorehabilitation and the Role of Motor Imagery Training: Do ARAT and Barthel Index Improvements Support Its Clinical Use? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Discussion

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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