Somatosensory training: a systematic review and meta-analysis with methodological considerations and clinical insights.
Ryoki Sasaki, Sho Kojima, Kei Saito and 1 others
PMID 40033340WHAT IT FOUND
Repetitive somatosensory training improved two-point discrimination at the stimulated finger in healthy adults, but the effect varied widely across studies.
No eligible trials were found for stroke patients, so its clinical utility for rehabilitation remains unproven.
Key findings
01The meta-analysis found a significant improvement in two-point discrimination thresholds at the stimulated finger, but the prediction interval crossed zero, indicating high variability in whether the training works.
02There was no significant change in somatosensory performance at the non-stimulated control finger.
03No studies involving stroke patients met the inclusion criteria, so the review could not determine if somatosensory training improves deficits in this population.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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
No eligible studies were found for stroke patients, so the findings cannot be applied to clinical rehabilitation populations. High risk of bias in nearly half of the included studies due to lack of randomization and blinding. Effects were measured only within 24 hours, so it is unknown if improvements last long enough to be clinically useful. Heterogeneity was very high (I-squared 81%), and subgroup analyses did not identify which factors (like age or stimulation type) drove the variability in results.
Declared interests
Funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. No other conflicts of interest declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this training will help your stroke patients. The review found no eligible studies in stroke patients, and the positive results in healthy adults showed high variability, with some studies finding no benefit or even worsening performance.