Predictors of upper limb motor recovery in stroke survivors: a pre-post test study design

Objectives The study aimed to assess the predictors of upper limb motor recovery in stroke survivors.Design Pre-post test study design.Setting Conducted in two centres (First Level Hospital and University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka).Participants Patients living with stroke accessing physiotherapy services at the two public hospitals. A total of 52 patients were recruited at the start of the study, 6 were lost to follow-up and 46 completed the study.Intervention Conventional physiotherapy for 8 weeks (5 September 2022-28 October 2022).Primary outcome Motor function measured using a Fugl-Meyer assessment of the upper extremity.Results Analysis was conducted on 46 participants. A significant difference was observed between the level of motor function at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment (p=0.0183). At baseline, 50% of participants had mild motor function, which improved after 8 weeks, with 69.6% having mild motor function. Stroke patients with severe motor function impairment at baseline were associated with 0.01 times likelihood of having mild motor function impairment after 8 weeks of physiotherapy treatment (AOR 0.01; 95 % CI 0.00 to 0.16; p=0.002).Conclusion The motor function of stroke patients continues to improve over time. This study demonstrated that initial upper limb motor function impairment could be used as a predictor for upper limb motor function.