Physiotherapy for patients with functional movement disorder: A systematic review 2023 Molero-Mateo and Molina-Rueda

Introduction
Functional movement disorder (FMD), a type of functional neurological disorder, is a common reason for consultation with the neurology department. The efficacy of physiotherapy for motor rehabilitation of these patients has been widely studied. The aim of this review is to analyse the available evidence on the effects of physiotherapy on motor symptoms, activity (gait, mobility, balance), perceived health, quality of life, and the cognitive/emotional state of patients with FMD.

Methods
This review follows the PRISMA recommendations. Four electronic databases were searched for relevant articles. Our review included randomised controlled trials investigating the effects of a specialised physiotherapy intervention alone or in combination with other therapies as part of a multidisciplinary approach, with results compared against standard physiotherapy.

Results
We reviewed 4 studies, including a total of 188 patients. We gathered data on the study population, outcome measures, protocols, and results. According to the Oxford quality scoring system, 3 studies had moderate methodological quality (3-4/5) and the remaining study presented poor methodological quality (<3).

Conclusions
Physiotherapy improves motor symptoms, activity, perceived health, and quality of life in patients with FMD.

Open access, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2173580823000330

 

"Clinical features suggestive of FMD include sudden disease onset, disappearance of symptoms with distraction and exacerbation with attention, and excessive fatigue. Diagnosis is based on detection during the neurological examination of typical features of FMD that are incongruous with an organic disorder and inconsistent over time and between tasks"