The abilities of children diagnosed with Obstetric Brachial Palsy (OBP) are limited by brachial plexus injuries. Thus, their participation in the community is hindered, which involves a lower quality of life due to worse performance in activities of daily living as a consequence of the functional limitations of the affected upper limb. Conventional Mirror Therapy (Conventional MT) and Virtual Therapy improve the affected upper limb functionality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of Conventional MT and Virtual Reality MT on the spontaneous use of the affected upper limb and quality of life of children with upper Obstetric Brachial Palsy between 6 and 12 years of age. A randomized pilot study was performed. Twelve children were randomly assigned to perform Conventional Mirror Therapy or Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy for four weeks. Ten children completed the treatment. Two assessments (pre/post-intervention) were carried out to assess the spontaneous use of the affected upper limb and the quality of life using the Children’s Hand-use Experience Questionnaire (CHEQ) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales (PedsQL TM 4.0), respectively. There was a statistically significant increment in spontaneous use, observed in independent tasks (p = 0.02) and in the use of the affected hand with grasp (p = 0.04), measured with the CHEQ, for the Virtual Reality MT group. There were no statistically significant changes (p > 0.05) for the Conventional MT group in the spontaneous use of the affected upper limb. Regarding the quality of life, statistically significant changes were obtained in the Physical and Health activity categories of the parents’ questionnaire (p = 0.03) and in the total score of the children’s questionnaire (p = 0.04) in the Virtual Reality MT group, measured using the PedsQL TM 4.0. Statistically significant changes were not obtained for the quality of life in the Conventional MT group. This study suggests that, compared to Conventional MT, Virtual Reality MT would be a home-based therapeutic complement to increase independent bimanual tasks using grasp in the affected upper limb and improve the quality of life of children diagnosed with upper OBP in the age range of 6–12 years.

Modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) is efficient at improving upper limb non-use. The experiences of families and children with mCIMT could allow researchers to understand how it influences their day-to-day life and to improve the function of the affected upper limb without altering family life and avoiding frustration. In this qualitative study, we aimed to collect the experiences of parents and their children (aged 4–8 years) who did mCIMT at home regarding the application of low-intensity modified constraint-induced movement therapy to improve the affected upper limb functionality in infantile hemiplegia with moderate manual ability. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed to obtain insights into their experience with mCIMT. The experiences of parents and children were described in thematic sections. Eight children with hemiplegia (six years, standard deviation, SD: 1.77) and their parents were asked about their experiences after applying 50 h of mCIMT at home. Three main themes emerged from the children’s interview data: (1) the experience of wearing the containment in the modified constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) intervention, (2) the reaction to performing the therapy at home with his/her family, and (3) learning of the affected upper limb. In the parents’ interview data, there were two main themes: (1) the difficulty of executing an intensive therapy protocol (mCIMT: 50 h) at home and (2) the feeling of not wanting to finish the intervention. The experiences of the parents and their children regarding mCIMT allowed us to understand the facilitators and barriers that affect the execution of mCIMT at home, and this understanding allows us to improve its future application.

Background: The capacity of children with hemiplegia to be engaged in anticipatory action planning is affected. There is no balance among spatial, proprioceptive and visual information, thus altering the affected upper limb visuomotor coordination. The objective of the present study was to assess the improvement in visuomotor coordination after the application of a unimanual intensive therapy program, with the use of unaffected hand containment compared with not using unaffected hand containment. Methods: A simple blind randomized clinical trial was realized. A total of 16 subjects with congenital infantile hemiplegia participated in the study with an age mean of 5.54 years old (SD:1.55). Two intensive protocols for 5 weeks of modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) or unimanual therapy without containment (UTWC) were executed 5 days per week (2 h/day). Affected upper limb visuomotor coordination (reaction time, task total time, active range, dynamic grasp) was measured before–after intensive therapy using a specific circuit with different slopes (10°/15°). Results: Statistically significant inter-group differences were found after the intervention, with clinically relevant results for the mCIMT group not seen in UTWC, in the following variables: reaction time 10°slope ( p = 0.003, d = 2.44), reaction time 15°slope ( p = 0.002, d = 2.15) as well as for the task total time 10°slope ( p = 0.002, d = 2.25), active reach 10°slope ( p = 0.002, d = 2.7), active reach 15°slope ( p = 0.003, d = 2.29) and dynamic grasp 10°/15°slopes ( p = <0.001, d = 2.69). There were not statistically significant inter-group differences in the total task time with 15°slope ( p = 0.074, d = 1.27). Conclusions: The use of unaffected hand containment in mCIMT would allow improvements in the affected upper limb’s visuomotor coordination. Thus, it would favor clinical practice to make decisions on therapeutic approaches to increase the affected upper limb functionality and action planning in children diagnosed with infantile hemiplegia (4–8 years old).

The movements of the affected upper limb in infantile hemiplegia are slower and clumsy. This leads to a decrease in the use of the affected hand. The visual effect obtained using the mirror box and the observation of actions in another individual can activate the same structural neuronal cells responsible for the execution of these actions. This research will study the affected upper limb functionality in hemiplegia infantile from 6 to 12 years old after the application of two intervention protocols: observation action therapy and mirror therapy combined with observation action therapy. Children with a diagnose of congenital infantile hemiplegia will be recruited to participate in a randomized controlled trial with two intervention protocols during four weeks (1 h per/day; 5 sessions per/week): Mirror Therapy Action Observation (MTAO) or Action Observation Therapy (AOT). The study variables will be: spontaneous use, measured with the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA); manual ability measured with the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT); surface electromyography of the flexors and extensors muscles of the wrist and grasp strength through a grip dynamometer. Four assessments will be performed: At baseline situation, at the end of treatment, 3 and 6 months after treatment (follow-up assessments). This study will study the effects of these therapies on the use of the affected upper limb in children with hemiplegia.

Objective: To assess the functionality of the affected upper limb in children diagnosed with hemiplegia aged between 4 and 8 years after applying low-intensity modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (mCIMT). Methods: Prospective case series study. A mCIMT protocol was applied for five weeks, with two hours of containment per day. The study variables were quality of movement of the upper limb, spontaneous use, participation of the affected upper limb in activities of daily living, dynamic joint position, grasp–release action, grasp strength, supination and extension elbow movements. Four measurements were performed, using the quality of upper extremity test (QUEST) scale, the Shriners Hospital for Children Upper Extremity Evaluation (SHUEE) Evaluation, a hand dynamometer and a goniometer. Results: The sample was composed of eight children with moderate manual ability. Statistically significant differences were detected in all the studied variables (p < 0.05) between the pre-treatment and post–treatment results (Week 0–Week 5), except for upper limb dressing, putting on splints and buttoning up. In the first week, the changes were statistically significant, except for protective extension, grasp strength, grasp–release and all functional variables (level of functionality and participation of the patient’s upper limbs) in the SHUEE Evaluation (p > 0.05). The greatest increase occurred in spontaneous use from Assessment 1 to Assessment 4 (p = 0.01), reaching 88.87% active participation in bimanual tasks. The quality of movement of the upper limb exhibited a significant value due to the increase in dissociated movements and grasp (p = 0.01). Conclusion: A low dose (50 h) of mCIMT increased the functionality of children diagnosed with congenital hemiplegia between 4 and 8 years of age with moderate manual ability.