Table 2.
Clinical outcome measures and inferential statistics.
| Mean between-group differences | Between groups comparison | Mean within-group differences | Within-groups comparison | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 | T1 | T1 | T0 | T1–T0 | T1–T0 | T1–T0 | ||
| Outcome Measure | Group | Mean (SD) Median [Q1; Q3] | Mean (SD) Median [Q1; Q3] | Mean (LB; UB) 95% CI | p | P (ES) | Mean (LB; UB) 95% CI | p |
| PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE | ||||||||
| MASγ upper limb | EG | 3.75 [3.00; 6.62] | 3.50 [2.00; 4.75] | −0.12 (−1.48; 1.23) | n.s | n.s (−0.02) | −1.18 (−2.10; −0.27) | 0.008 |
| CG | 4.25 [3.25; 5.37] | 3.00 [2.00; 5.50] | −1.15 (−1.72; −0.59) | 0.003 | ||||
| SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES | ||||||||
| FMA | EG | 28.75 (11.92) | 32.38 (11.84) | 2.12 (−6.81; 11.06) | n.s | n.s (−0.17) | 3.62 (1.77; 5.48) | 0.001 |
| CG | 27.94 (10.82) | 34.5 (12.89) | 6.56 (3.75; 9.36) | 0.001 | ||||
| MRC | ||||||||
| Total UL | EG | 23.00 [14.37; 25.25] | 24.75 [16.37; 27.37] | 0.56 (−4.50; 5.63) | n.s | 0.004 (0.49) | 3.62 (2.16; 5.08) | 0.001 |
| CG | 23.00 [16.12; 28.37] | 26.25 [17.75; 28.37] | 0.90 (−0.31; 2.13) | n.s. | ||||
| Shoulder flexionγ | EG | 3.00 [2.00; 3.50] | 3.00 [3.00; 4.00] | 0.37 (−0.32; 1.07) | n.s | n.s. | 0.40 (−0.14; 0.66) | 0.01 |
| CG | 3.00 [3.00; 4.00] | 4.00 [3.50; 4.00] | 0.34 (0.13; 0.55) | 0.009 | ||||
| Shoulder abductionγ | EG | 3.00 [2.00; 4.00] | 3.25 [3.00; 4.00] | 0.21 (−0.22; 0.65) | n.s | 0.039 (−0.42) | 0.62 (0.25; 0.99) | 0.007 |
| CG | 3.50 [3.00; 4.00] | 3.50 [3.12; 4.00] | 0.12 (−0.02; 0.27) | n.s. | ||||
| Shoulder's external rotationγ | EG | 2.00 [2.00; 3.00] | 3.00 [2.00; 3.00] | 0.00 (−0.80; 0.80) | n.s | 0.019 (−0.72) | 0.53 (0.26; 0.79) | 0.004 |
| CG | 3.00 [2.00; 3.00] | 3.00 [3.00; 3.37] | −0.06 (−0.43; 0.31) | n.s. | ||||
| Elbow flexionγ | EG | 3.00 [2.00; 4.00] | 4.00 [3.00; 4.00] | −0.25 (−0.77; 0.27) | n.s | 0.043 (−1.15) | 0.59 (0.16; 1.02) | 0.008 |
| CG | 3.00 [3.00; 3.50] | 3.00 [3.00; 3.50] | 0.00 (−0.25; 0.25) | n.s. | ||||
| Elbow extensionγ | EG | 3.25 [2.00; 4.00] | 4.00 [2.25; 4.00] | 0.00 (−0.81; 0.81) | n.s | n.s. | 0.53 (−0.11; 0.94) | 0.017 |
| CG | 3.50 [3.00; 4.00] | 3.50 [3.12; 4.00] | 0.25 (0.03; 0.46) | 0.038 | ||||
| Forearm's supinationγ | EG | 2.50 [1.00; 3.00] | 3.00 [1.00; 3.37] | 0.25 (−0.89;1.39) | n.s | n.s. | 0.40 (0.08; 0.73) | 0.024 |
| CG | 3.00 [0.25; 4.00] | 3.75 [1.00; 4.00] | 0.21 (−0.05; 0.49) | n.s. | ||||
| Wrist flexionγ | EG | 2.00 [0.25; 3.37] | 3.00 [1;00; 3.87] | 0.12 (−0.90; 1.15) | n.s | n.s. | 0.31 (−0.01; 0.63) | n.s. |
| CG | 3.00 [1.00; 3.87] | 3.00 [1.00; 3.87] | −0.03 (−0.33; 0.26) | n.s. | ||||
| Wrist extensionγ | EG | 2.00 [0.25; 3.00] | 2.00 [1.25; 4.00] | −0.15 (−1.20; 0.89) | n.s | n.s. | 0.21 (−0.07; 0.51) | n.s. |
| CG | 2.50 [0.25; 3.37] | 2.50 [1.00; 3.00] | 0.06 (−0.33; 0.46) | n.s. | ||||
γ
non-parametric statistics.
P ≤ 0.05.
FMA, Fugl Meyer Assessment; MAS, Modified Ashworth Scale; MRC, Medical Research Council; ES. Effect size; EG, Experimental Group; CG, Control Group; CI, Confidence Interval; SD, Standard Deviation; Q1, 25° interquartile; Q3, 75° interquartile; LB, Lower Bound; UB, Upper Bound; n.s., not significant.