Effects of mirror therapy on muscle activity, muscle tone, pain, and function in patients with mutilating injuries: A randomized controlled trial

This study assessed the effectiveness of mirror therapy (MT) on muscle elasticity, pain, and function in patients with mutilating injuries. Thirty patients with impaired function due to mutilating injuries were assigned randomly to experimental or control group. The experimental group (n = 15) received MT (30 minutes a day, 3 days a week for 4 weeks) and conventional physical therapy after each MT session while the control group (n = 15) only received conventional physical therapy. There were significant differences in pain and hand function within each group (pre-intervention vs post-intervention) and between groups (experimental vs control) (P .05). Although MT cannot result in significant changes in muscle elasticity in a clinical setting, it does have positive effects by reducing pain and improving hand function. Thus, MT can be effective for patients with impaired function due to mutilating injuries.