RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Augmented physical training with assistance from robot and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may introduce intensive motor improvement in chronic stroke. OBJECTIVE: To compare the rehabilitation effectiveness achieved by NMES robot-assisted wrist training and that by robot-assisted training. METHODS: This study was a single-blinded randomized controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up. Twenty-six hemiplegic subjects with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to receive 20-session wrist training with an electromyography (EMG)-driven NMES robot (NMES robot group, n = 11) and with an EMG-driven robot (robot group, n = 15), completed within 7 consecutive weeks. Clinical scores, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Modified Ashworth Score (MAS), and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) were used to evaluate the training effects before and after the training, as well as 3 months later. An EMG parameter, muscle co-contraction index, was also applied to investigate the session-by-session variation in muscular coordination patterns during the training. RESULTS: The improvement in FMA (shoulder/elbow, wrist/hand) obtained in the NMES robot group was more significant than the robot group (P < .05). Significant improvement in ARAT was achieved in the NMES robot group (P < .05) but absent in the robot group. NMES robot-assisted training showed better performance in releasing muscle co-contraction than the robot-assisted across the training sessions (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The NMES robot-assisted wrist training was more effective than the pure robot. The additional NMES application in the treatment could bring more improvements in the distal motor functions and faster rehabilitation progress.