A Short and Distinct Time Window for Recovery of Arm Motor Control Early After Stroke Revealed With a Global Measure of Trajectory Kinematics

Abstract

Recovery after stroke plateaued much earlier for arm motor control, isolated with a global kinematic measure, compared to motor function assessed with clinical scales. This dissociation between the time courses of kinematic and clinical measures of recovery may be due to the contribution of strength improvement to the latter. Novel interventions, focused on the first month poststroke, will be required to exploit the narrower window of spontaneous recovery for motor control.