Table 1 Characteristics of the included studies.
Study | Stroke phase | Follow-up period | Study design | Treatment protocol and setting | Sham therapy in control group | Assessed outcome measure in this meta-analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kim et al., 202139 | Chronic | At the end of intervention (after 8 weeks) | Parallel | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 20; M/F : 12/8) MT: Repeated flexion + extension of the knee and ankle while observing oneself in a mirror NMES: Involving the use of Myomed 134; intensity, 10–20 mA; frequency, 35 Hz 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 8 weeks Control group (n = 20; M/F : 10/10) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy: neurodevelopmental physical therapy 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 8 weeks | No | 10 MWT, BBS |
Lee et al., 201938 | Chronic | At the end of intervention (after 4 weeks) | Parallel | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 15; M/F : 11/4) MT: Repeated dorsiflexion of both ankles with a mirror box measuring 50 × 70 cm2 NMES: Use Mesh Sock with the P1 program, which comprises 15 min of electric stimulation at a frequency of 100 Hz and a pulse width of 300 μs as well as 15 min of electric stimulation at a frequency of 15 Hz and a pulse width at 300 μs 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks Control group (n = 15; M/F : 10/5) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy (gait training) + NMES in MT + NMES group; Conventional therapy (gait training) + sham NMES in control group 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks | Yes: (sham mirror box without a reflective mirror, sham AES device was set not to operate) | Walking speed, MAS, BBS, cadence, step length, stride length |
Xu et al., 201737 | Acute & chronic | At the end of intervention (after 4 weeks) | Parallel | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 23; M/F : 7/16) MT: Repeated flexion + extension of the ankles while observing oneself in a 60 × 90 cm2 mirror NMES: Use 5 × 5 cm2 electrodes with frequency, 50 Hz; intensity, 10 mA; duration, 5 s 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks Control group (n = 23; M/F : 8/15) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy: physical and occupational therapy, neurodevelopment facilitation 4 h/session; 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks | Yes: (use of the non-reflective side of the mirror) | 10MWT, MAS |
Lee et al., 201636 | Chronic | At the end of intervention (after 4 weeks) | Parallel | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 14; M/F : 7/7) MT: Repeated dorsiflexion of both ankles while observing oneself in a 50 × 70 cm2 mirror NMES involving the use of Microstim (Medel GmbH, Germany), which comprises an external switch and surface electrodes (5 × 5 cm2); frequency, 35 Hz; pulse duration, 250 μs; duration, 0.2 s 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks Control group (n = 13; M/F : 7/6) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy: muscle facilitation, balance and gait training, and task-specific functional training 60 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks | No | 6MWT, MAS, BBS |
Salhab et al., 201640 | Subacute | At the end of intervention (after 2 weeks) | Cross-over | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 18; M/F : 10/8) MT: Repeated ankle dorsiflexion while observing oneself in a 70 × 40 cm2 mirror NMES: Involve the usage of symmetrical rectangular biphasic waveform current; frequency < 10 Hz; pulse width, 300 μs; total stimulation time, 16 min/session, with 6/6 duty cycle 1st period of intervention with MT + NMES: 40 min/session; 4 sessions/week for 2 weeks Undergo crossover after washout period of 1 week 2nd period of intervention with Conventional therapy: 40 min/session; 4 sessions/week for 2 weeks Control group (n = 18; M/F : 10/8) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy: stretching, active and passive mobilization 10 min/session; 4 sessions/week for 2 weeks in each period of intervention | No | 10MWT |
Ji et al., 201435 | Chronic | At the end of intervention (after 6 weeks) | Parallel | Experimental group, MT + NMES (n = 10; M/F : 6/4) MT: Repeated dorsiflexion for 10 s followed by 5 s rest while observing oneself in a 60 × 90 cm2 mirror NMES: Using Microstim with surface electrodes (50 × 50 mm2), a stimulator, and a foot switch 20 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 6 weeks Control group (n = 10; M/F : 6/4) Baseline therapy for both intervention and control groups Conventional therapy: PNF neurodevelopment technique 30 min/session; 5 sessions/week for 6 weeks | Yes: (without application of NMES, mirror covered with white cloth) | Walking speed, cadence, step length, stride length |
