Methods of Fine Motor Skills Restoring in Patients With Cerebral Stroke

Aim. Evaluation of the effectiveness of occupational therapy methods in the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral stroke. Materials and methods. The study included patients with cerebral stroke aged 42 to 69 years (mean age 58±3.2 years) undergoing rehabilitation. The condition was assessed using the following scales: the HDRS scale, the Rivermead mobility Index, the modified Rankin scale, and the NIHSS stroke assessment scale. Statistical data processing was performed using the Statistica 10.0 program (StatSoft, Inc., USA). For quantitative variables, the mean (M), standard deviation (σ), and standard error of the mean (m) were calculated; The results are presented as M±σ±M. The Student's t-test and Pearson's χ2-test were used to assess the differences between the groups. The differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results and discussion. As a result of the conducted occupational therapy, a significant improvement was observed in all evaluated parameters from the 3rd to the 30th day. Patients showed increased balance, hand sensitivity, joint activity, pain sensitivity, and improved skills needed to perform daily activities. In the main group, there was a significant decrease in the severity of neurological deficit on the NIHSS scale (by 2 times, p<0.05), the level of depression on the HDRS (by 1.4 times, p<0.05), the degree of disability on the Rankin scale (by 1.5 times, p<0.05), as well as an increase in the level of mobility on the Rivermead index (by a factor of 2, p<0.05). Conclusions. The use of occupational therapy methods in the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral stroke contributes to a significant recovery of motor functions, reducing the severity of neurological deficits and increasing activity in everyday life. The data obtained confirm the high clinical effectiveness of occupational therapy in the early recovery period of stroke.