Wristful thinking: exploring the effects of robotic rehabilitation and cross-education for persons with multiple sclerosis.
Kailynn Mannella, Giulia A Albanese, Valentina Massone and 8 others
PMID 40618053WHAT IT FOUND
In people with MS, robot-guided wrist training of a single arm increased wrist strength and tracking accuracy in both arms, but daily hand function scores did not change.
Key findings
01In both MS groups, training one wrist increased isometric wrist strength in the trained wrist and the opposite wrist.
02Tracking accuracy improved in both the trained and untrained wrists for both MS groups.
03Daily hand function scores did not change after training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was small and not randomised, with seven people in each MS training group, so differences between groups could be unstable. Limb training was assigned by self-report of the less or more affected side, not by objective measurement. The no-training group had four people, so it helps rule out natural fluctuation but does not make the study a randomised controlled trial. Everyday hand function scores did not change, so the study does not show that wrist strength gains translated into daily activities. Range of motion and joint position matching did not change. The training dose was based on prior literature, and the paper does not show it is optimal. Participants varied widely in MS type, years since diagnosis, age, sex and handedness.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that training the less affected arm is better than training the more affected arm. The less affected group showed larger trends, but the direct comparison between groups was not significant and the study was small.