Study to Enhance Motor Acute Recovery With Intensive Training After Stroke

Inclusion criteria

• Age over 21 years
• Ischemic stroke confirmed by CT or MRI within the previous 6 weeks
• No history of prior ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with associated motor deficits (prior stroke with no motor symptoms is allowed)
• Residual unilateral arm weakness with Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity (FM-UE) score 6-40 at time of enrollment.
• Ability to give informed consent and understand the tasks involved.

Exclusion criteria

• Space-occupying hemorrhagic transformation or associated intracranial hemorrhage.
• Arm impairment that is too severe or too mild on day of baseline testing just prior to beginning of the study intervention.
• Recent botox injection to upper limb or planned botox injection over the course of the 7-month study duration.
• Cognitive impairment, with score on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) ≤ 20.
• History of physical or neurological condition that interferes with study procedures or assessment of motor function (e.g. severe arthritis, severe neuropathy, Parkinson's disease).
• Inability to sit in a chair and perform upper limb exercises for one hour at a time.
• Participation in another upper extremity rehabilitative therapy study during the study period.
• Terminal illness
• Social and/or personal circumstances that interfere with ability to return for therapy sessions and follow up assessments.