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@article{206437,
        author = {Abhishek Yadav and Sunil Bhatt and Sandhya Shukla},
        title = {Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy versus Conventional Hand Exercises on Hand Grip Strength in the Geriatric Population: A Comparative Study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {2},
        pages = {1657-1662},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=206437},
        abstract = {Background: The geriatric population is expanding rapidly, and age-related decline in hand grip strength contributes to frailty, functional dependence and reduced quality of life. Mirror therapy is a non-invasive neurorehabilitation technique that uses visual feedback to drive cortical reorganisation, but evidence for its effect on grip strength in older adults without neurological pathology is limited.
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of mirror therapy and conventional hand exercises on hand grip strength in the geriatric population.
Methods: In a comparative pre-test–post-test experimental study, 20 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and above were recruited by convenience sampling and allocated into two equal groups. Group A (n = 10) received mirror therapy and Group B (n = 10) received conventional hand exercises. Both groups completed 20 supervised sessions over four weeks (five sessions per week, 20 minutes per session). Hand grip strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer before and after the intervention. Data were analysed using paired and independent t-tests, with significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: The groups were comparable at baseline (grip strength, p = 0.776). Both improved significantly (Group A: 17.97 ± 2.62 to 23.35 ± 3.06 kg, +30.35%, t = 13.323, p < 0.001; Group B: 18.28 ± 2.22 to 19.60 ± 2.51 kg, +7.19%, t = 7.462, p < 0.001). The mean improvement was significantly greater in Group A than in Group B (5.38 ± 1.28 vs 1.32 ± 0.56 kg; t = 9.209, p < 0.001), with a significant between-group difference at post-test (t = 2.996, p = 0.008). No adverse events occurred.
Conclusion: Mirror therapy produced significantly greater gains in hand grip strength than conventional hand exercises in older adults. Its simplicity, safety and low cost support its inclusion in geriatric rehabilitation programmes.},
        keywords = {Mirror therapy; Hand strength; Aged; Neurological rehabilitation; Neuronal plasticity; Sarcopenia},
        month = {July},
        }