Tell your doctor to get this and write up a stroke protocol. That would be just great, thousands upon thousands of differing protocols because our stroke associations refuse to do something as simple as following research and consolidating it into stroke protocols. You had better hope your doctor is one of the better ones.
Effects of combining robot-assisted therapy with neuromuscular electrical stimulation on motor impairment, motor and daily function, and quality of life in patients with chronic stroke: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial
1
Department of Occupational Therapy and Graduate Institute of Behavioral
Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wenhua 1st Rd,
Taoyuan, Taiwan
2 Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
3 School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
4 Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
5 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan
6 School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2 Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
3 School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
4 Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
5 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan
6 School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2015, 12:96
doi:10.1186/s12984-015-0088-3
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/12/1/96
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/12/1/96
| Received: | 2 July 2015 |
| Accepted: | 23 October 2015 |
| Published: | 31 October 2015 |
© 2015 Lee et al.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Abstract
Background
Robot-assisted therapy (RT) is a widely used intervention approach to enhance motor
recovery in patients after stroke, but its effects on functional improvement remained
uncertain. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is one potential adjuvant intervention
approach to RT that could directly activate the stimulated muscles and improve functional
use of the paretic hand.
Methods
This was a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. Thirty-nine individuals
with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to the RT combined with NMES (RT + ES)
or to RT with sham stimulation (RT + Sham) groups. The participants completed the
intervention 90 to 100 minutes/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. The outcome measures
included the upper extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FMA), modified Ashworth scale
(MAS), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Motor Activity Log (MAL), and Stroke Impact
Scale 3.0 (SIS). All outcome measures were assessed before and after intervention,
and the UE-FMA, MAL, and SIS were reassessed at 3 months of follow-up.
Results
Compared with the RT + Sham group, the RT + ES group demonstrated greater improvements
in wrist flexor MAS score, WMFT quality of movement, and the hand function domain
of the SIS. For other outcome measures, both groups improved significantly after the
interventions, but no group differences were found.
Conclusion
RT + ES induced significant benefits in reducing wrist flexor spasticity and in hand
movement quality in patients with chronic stroke.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT01655446
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