Can imagining movement help kids recover arm function after a birth injury?
NCT ID NCT06966544
First seen Sep 02, 2026 · Last updated Sep 03, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether adding graded motor imagery training, a technique where children mentally rehearse movements, to standard physiotherapy can improve arm function, balance, and quality of life in children aged 7 to 18 with obstetric brachial plexus injury, a birth-related nerve injury affecting the arm. Participants receive either conventional physiotherapy alone or physiotherapy plus the mental training over 8 weeks. Researchers measure changes in arm movement, range of motion, and motor imagery ability to see if the added training helps.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Graded motor imagery training added to conventional physiotherapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could add a new therapy that helps children with obstetric brachial plexus injury move their arm better and improve their quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with 42 children, so results may not apply to everyone. The training may not improve outcomes beyond standard physiotherapy.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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42 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2023
- Finished
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Jun 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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7 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Obtaining family consent and the child's willingness * Being between the ages of 7-18 * Being diagnosed with obstetric brachial plexus injury * Not having received physical therapy in the last 6 months Exclusion Criteria: * Having a traumatic (postnatal) brachial plexus injury * Having undergone surgery for complications related to brachial plexus injury within the last six months (release, tendon transfer, osteotomy, etc.) * Having another neurological, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal or cardiopulmonary system disease in addition to OBPI * Having a Modified Mini-Mental State Examination score of \<27.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Izmir Bakircay University Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Application and Research Center
Izmir, Menemen, 35400, Turkey (Türkiye)
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