Gains Across WHO Dimensions of Function After Robot-Based Therapy in Stroke Subjects.
Jennifer Wu, Lucy Dodakian, Jill See and 7 others
PMID 33084499WHAT IT FOUND
Robot-assisted therapy improved arm movement and daily task performance in 40 stroke survivors, but did not change their perceived quality of life or participation.
Gains in physical function correlated with activity scores, but neither predicted improvements in participation.
Key findings
01Subjects showed statistically significant improvements in all measures of body function and activity limitations, including the primary outcomes of the Fugl-Meyer motor scale and the Action Research Arm Test.
02The group did not show statistically significant change in the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, the only measure of participation restriction used.
03Improvements in physical function and activity were correlated with each other, but changes in participation measures were not correlated with improvements in function or activity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Single-arm design with no control group means natural recovery cannot be completely ruled out as a contributor to the gains, although baseline stability was checked. Follow-up was only one month post-therapy, which may be too short to detect changes in participation or quality of life. Only one measure of participation (SS-QOL) was used, limiting the ability to generalize findings about participation. The study population was restricted to those 11–26 weeks post-stroke with specific motor criteria, so results may not apply to acute or chronic patients outside this window.
Declared interests
Dr. Cramer serves as a consultant for Abbvie, Constant Therapeutics, MicroTransponder, Neurolutions, SanBio, Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co., and TRCare. The study was supported by NIH extramural funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improved motor scores will lead to improved quality of life or participation in the short term. The study found no significant change in participation measures despite significant gains in physical function and activity.