Background: Mirror therapy is a new form of stroke rehabilitation that uses the mirror reflection of the unaffected hand in place of the affected hand to augment movement training.  It is a simple and inexpensive but data in children is limited.

Aim of the study: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of mirror therapy in rehabilitation of hand function in children with hemiplegia.

Materials and methods: This was a prospective randomized comparative study in hemiplegic children between 5 to 13 years with chronic stroke attending a hospital in Central India. Study group was given mirror therapy along with conventional therapy and control group received only conventional therapy. Patient were assessed in term of functional improvement (Barthel Index), maximal grasp strength (Modified sphygmomanometer test) and spasticity( Modified Ashworth scale). These indices were measured at 0, 1 and 3 months.

Results: There were 10 patients in study group and 10 in control group of mean age 8.4 years. At 3 months the Barthel index was 87.14 versus 72.9 (p=0.026); the MAS was 1.57 and 1.43 (p=0.768) and the MST was 95.7 versus 60 (p=0.03) in the two groups. There was a statistically significant improvement in function and maximal grasp strength but not spasticity in study group as compared to control group after mirror therapy.

Conclusion: Mirror therapy may be a useful low cost modality in improving hand function in children with hemiparesis in underserved areas.