Robot-Assisted Therapy Combined with Trunk Restraint in Acute Stroke Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Reducing the compensatory mechanism by restraining unnecessary trunk movements may help enhance the effectiveness of robot-assisted therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of robot-assisted therapy in combination with trunk restraint on upper extremity function and on daily activities in patients with acute stroke (≤ 30days of onset). METHODS: Thirty-six acute stroke patients were randomly assigned to an experimental (n=18) or control (n=18) group. The experimental group performed robot-assisted therapy combined with trunk restraint, while the control group performed only robot-assisted therapy. Both groups were treated for 30 min, 5 days a week, for a total of 3 weeks. The outcome measures included the Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity, wolf motor function test, motor activity log, upper extremity muscle strength, and modified Barthel index. RESULTS: After the intervention, both groups showed significant improvements in Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity, wolf motor function test, motor activity log, elbow extensor muscle strength, and modified Barthel index (p < 0.05). Post-intervention, the experimental group exhibited greater changes in the Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity, motor activity log, and elbow extensor muscle strength (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that robot-assisted therapy in combination with trunk restraint is more effective for improving upper extremity function than only robot-assisted therapy in acute stroke patients.