INTRODUCTION: The cerebrovascular accident is one of the most incident disease of the modernity, that results in multiple sequels. One of the most important sequel is the impairment of the motor function of the affected upper limb and, usually, the rehabilitation is slower than the lower limb and, often, it does not happen in adequate form. The constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) have been considered a rehabilitation technique for the affected upper limb and it's able to promote the functional recovery of the hemiparetic arm. OBJECTIVE: the aim of this study is conducting a literature search to assess the effectiveness of the CIMT in patients after stroke. MATERIALS AND METHOD: this study is a literature review of articles indexed in the database PubMed, published from 200 to 2007, in English and Portuguese. In the search strategy was used the following key-words: "cerebrovascular accident", "stroke", "constraint induced movement therapy" and "CIMT". RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: in general, the researches shows that the CIMT is an alternative technique in the field of functional rehabilitation of the paretic arm, promoting cortical reorganization, overcoming of the "learned non-use", improving the quality of movement and increasing amount of use and, these improvements are transferred to the daily life activities of the patient. CONCLUSION: CIMT is a product of the scientific advent of the physiotherapy that brings functional benefits for the patients after stroke. However, it's necessary more investigation about this technique to reduce the psychological complications resulting from the treatment, thus maximizing the functionality of the affected upper limb.

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