Fig. 4

Smoothness and motor performance of the upper extremity as a function of time post stroke. The black squares and corresponding error bars represent the average and standard deviation of SPARC and FM-UE. Shaded area indicates the time period for which the contribution of time was significant (i.e., until week 5 post stroke) for SPARC and FM-UE. Thereafter, recovery levelled off. The grey dots and broken lines display the average and standard deviation of reference values of age- and gender-matched healthy individuals, from which patients who suffered a stroke deviated at all time points. Abbreviations: SPARC, spectral arc length; FM-UE, Fugl-Meyer motor assessment of the upper extremity