AIM: To explore the importance and effect of early movement therapy on function al recovery in patients with stroke. METHODS: Fifty patients with acute stroke, whose conditions were stable within a week, were randomly divided into rehabilitation group and control group. Each of the groups consisted of 25 cases. All of patients received alike routine trea tment (such as medicine), furthermore, the patients of the rehabilitation group received systematic treatment from special physiotherapists for 30 d. Clinical neurologic impairment assessment, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and modified Barthel Index (MBI) were used to assess the patients in the two groups at 30 d after treatment. RESULTS: Before treatment, there were no marked difference in the clinical neurlogic impairment assessment, FMA and MBI between the two groups (t = 0.076, 0.170, 0.625, p > 0.05). At 30 d after treatment, the scores of the clinical neurolo gic impairment assessment were significantly lower in the rehabilitation group (9.80 +/- 4.25) than in the control group (18.48 +/- 9.89) (t = 4.031, p < 0.01), but tho se of FMA and MBI were significantly higher in the rehabilitation (72.12 +/- 22.34 and 76 +/- 20.18), compared with the control group (49.12 +/- 17.69 and 45.20 +/- 16.43) (t = 4.035, 5.917, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The early movement therapy is markedly effective in the functional recovery of patients with stroke.

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