Post-stroke Voluntary Movements Improve When Combined with Vibration-Induced Illusion of Movement

Improving upper limb motor recovery is a major goal of stroke rehabilitation. However, after rehabilitation, stroke patients often still experience difficulty completing motor tasks. Sensory feedback can be impaired by stroke damage, and inadequate feedback and integration with motor control may prevent these patients from achieving smooth motor coordination. Here, we tested the effects of augmenting natural movement proprioception with vibration-induced illusions of movement during a reaching task. When participants reached for a target with the affected arm (stroke patients) or dominant arm (able-bodied participants), 90 Hz vibration on either the biceps brachii or triceps brachii induced the illusion of movement. Participants also completed control trials where sham (25 Hz) or no vibration were applied. Fitts’ Law and kinematic analyses revealed that vibration-induced movement illusions delivered to the primary agonist muscle involved in active movement improved stroke patients’ reaching motions. Incorporating this technique in rehabilitation could promote functional motor recovery.