Friday, December 6, 2024

Enhancing Hand Motor Recovery Post-Stroke: A Comparative Study of Robotic vs. Conventional Mirror Therapy.

 Ask your competent? doctor where action observation of the hand fits in. It's highly unlikely your hospital will get this robotic exoskeletal hand (RMT).

Enhancing Hand Motor Recovery Post-Stroke: A Comparative Study of Robotic vs. Conventional Mirror Therapy.

Steven Kurniawan, Husnul Mubarak, Nuralam Sam, Yose Waluyo

Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2024 Nov 28 [Epub ahead of print]

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of using a robotic exoskeletal hand (RMT) combined with mirror therapy (MT) in hand rehabilitation for post-stroke patients, compared to conventional MT.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Conducted from November 2023 to February 2024.

PARTICIPANTS

40 post-stroke subjects.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants were divided into two groups: one received robotic exoskeletal hand therapy combined with mirror therapy (RMT+MT), and the other received conventional mirror therapy (MT). The intervention lasted for 6 weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Hand motor function abilities were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremities (FMA-UE) - Hand Motor Domain, and finger dexterity was evaluated with the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT).

RESULTS

The RMT group showed significant improvement in hand motor function, with a median FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain score increasing from 6 to 14 (p = 0.000). Finger dexterity also improved significantly in the RMT group (p = 0.000). The conventional MT group demonstrated significant improvements in both the FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain (p = 0.001) and NHPT (p = 0.000). However, the RMT group achieved greater improvements, with significant differences between the two groups in both FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain (p = 0.038) and NHPT (p = 0.026) scores.

CONCLUSION

RMT is significantly more effective in restoring hand motor skills and improving finger dexterity in post-stroke rehabilitation patients compared to conventional MT.
Source: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation

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