TOPIC

Hand therapy research

Everything we have read on hand therapy. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,303 PAPERS · PAGE 17 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTCohort2024Comparison of Upper Extremity Function and Daily Use in Individuals with and without Post Stroke Depression.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairDepression did not affect arm function during early rehabilitation but was linked to significantly worse arm use and independence at six months. Clinicians should monitor mood closely when patients transition home, as depression may hinder the carryover of therapy gains to daily life.
• PTOTOther2023Spatial mapping of posture-dependent resistance to passive displacement of the hypertonic arm post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPost-stroke arm stiffness is not uniform. It depends heavily on where the hand is in space, with strong forces pulling toward a central equilibrium and less resistance in the middle of the workspace. This pattern is driven by muscle activity, not just tight tissues.
• PTOTOther2023The impact of lesion side on bilateral upper limb coordination after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRight hemisphere stroke made alternating two-hand circles harder to coordinate. Left hemisphere stroke made simultaneous circles harder, especially the weaker hand's path. This pattern could help choose two-hand practice.
• OTPilot2023A Pilot Feasibility Trial of an Upper Extremity Assistive System.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationSome participants with wrist weakness after neurologic injury showed meaningful improvement in their own OT goals while using a custom powered hand sleeve and occupational therapy. The sleeve and therapy were given together, so their separate effects cannot be separated.
• PTOTRCT2024Effects of anodal tDCS on resting state eeg power and motor function in acute stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding anodal tDCS to physical therapy improved lower-limb function in acute stroke patients with mild impairment, but did not improve upper-limb function or change brain activity compared to sham. The benefit was seen immediately and lasted one month.
• PTOTRCT2024Effects of an assist-as-needed equipped Tenodesis-Induced-Grip Exoskeleton Robot (TIGER) on upper limb function in patients with chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAssist-as-needed TIGER robot training plus task-specific motor training improved Fugl-Meyer scores from baseline in 16 chronic stroke patients, but the original constant-assistance TIGER showed greater gains, so the new mode was not superior.
• PTOTCase Series2023Combinatorial Effects of Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation and Task-Specific Training to Enhance Hand Motor Output after Paralysis.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitationCombining hand grip training with transcutaneous spinal stimulation improved grip strength in six people with spinal cord injury or stroke. Neither training nor stimulation alone worked well. This preliminary evidence suggests the combination is necessary for gains.
• PTOTQualitative2023Designing an Egocentric Video-Based Dashboard to Report Hand Performance Measures for Outpatient Rehabilitation of Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitationTherapists prioritized seeing video clips and movement quality to judge home hand use, while physicians preferred numerical trends. All seven clinicians wanted summarized data to save appointment time and requested patient diaries to understand barriers like pain or frustration.
• PTOTPilot2024Decoding hand and wrist movement intention from chronic stroke survivors with hemiparesis using a user-friendly, wearable EMG-based neural interface.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA wearable EMG sleeve decoded 12 hand and wrist movements in seven chronic stroke survivors with 77.1% accuracy. Decoding worked best when visible movement was present. For severe impairments, binary intent detection achieved 86.7% accuracy, though no physical therapy outcome was tested.
• PTOTRCT2024Mirror visual feedback as therapeutic modality in unilateral upper extremity complex regional pain syndrome type I: randomized controlled trial.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineSix weeks of daily mirror therapy reduced pain and improved hand function and quality of life in adults with complex regional pain syndrome type I. The effect was linked to the number of days the exercises were performed, and gains persisted at 30-day follow-up.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Upper limb intention tremor assessment: opportunities and challenges in wearable technology.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWearable sensors and smartphone tasks can quantify upper limb tremor, but intention tremor remains hard to measure accurately. Current tools often fail to separate the tremor from the voluntary movement, requiring new algorithms and tasks designed specifically for goal-directed actions.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024Individualized goals expressed by patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation: an observational study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineStroke patients prioritized walking and daily tasks, but few set goals for cognitive or visual deficits despite having them. Patient-specific goal measures capture functional activities well but may miss underlying impairments, so clinicians should ask about these areas directly rather than relying on scores.
• PTOTRCT2024Brain computer interface training with motor imagery and functional electrical stimulation for patients with severe upper limb paresis after stroke: a randomized controlled pilot trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBrain-computer interface training did not improve arm function more than standard therapy in severely impaired stroke patients. The main driver of recovery was whether the motor pathway was intact, not the type of training. Patients with damaged pathways showed little improvement regardless of intervention.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024Post-polio syndrome is not a dysimmune condition.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineBlood tests showed no immune system differences between people with post-polio syndrome and healthy controls. This challenges the theory that an ongoing immune attack causes new weakness and fatigue, suggesting symptoms may stem from nerve aging instead.
• OTOther2024Moving a missing hand: children born with below elbow deficiency can enact hand grasp patterns with their residual muscles.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren born without a hand produced distinct residual forearm muscle patterns when trying to move the missing hand. Ultrasound readings could tell apart five attempted grasp and wrist patterns in all six participants.
• PTOTCohort2024Patient Outcomes After Peripheral Nerve Injury Depend on Bimanual Dexterity and Preserved Use of the Affected Hand.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairBetter patient outcomes after hand nerve injury depend on dexterity in the non-dominant hand and continued use of the affected hand. Standard tests miss hand dominance, so clinicians should assess both hands separately and encourage using the injured hand.
• PTOTPilot2024Reminiscent music therapy combined with robot-assisted rehabilitation for elderly stroke patients: a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding reminiscent music to robot therapy improved self-efficacy and positive emotions more than robot therapy or usual care alone. However, the primary outcome of daily living activities showed no significant difference between the three groups. All groups improved from their own baselines.
• PTOTOther2024Development and validation of the coffee task: a novel functional assessment for prosthetic grip selection.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThe Coffee Task reliably measures prosthetic grip selection in healthy users. It tracks skill improvement with practice but cannot distinguish between trigger and pattern recognition control. Use it to monitor rehabilitation progress, not to compare controller types.
• PTOTPilot2024Validity and Reliability of a Telehealth Physical Fitness and Functional Assessment Battery for Ambulatory Youth With and Without Mobility Disabilities: Observational Measurement Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesHand grip, sit-to-stand, and timed walk tests matched in-person scores closely when done via video. The home-modified six-minute walk did not match in-person distances and should not be compared to them. No falls occurred.
• PTOTCohort2024Prevalence of Arm Weakness, Pre-Stroke Outcomes and Other Post-Stroke Impairments Using Routinely Collected Clinical Data on an Acute Stroke Unit.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair34.8% of 463 stroke patients at one acute hospital had upper limb weakness at a median of 1.0 day post-stroke. No one with severe weakness went home directly.
• PTOTRCT2024Efficacy of focused shockwave therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe carpal tunnel syndrome: a preliminary study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdding focused shockwave therapy to education, night splinting and exercises improved hand symptoms and function more than conservative care alone over 6 weeks in 24 participants with moderate-to-severe carpal tunnel syndrome.
• OTRCT2024Assessing effectiveness of serious game training designed to assist in upper limb prosthesis rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesTask-specific and non-task-specific serious games did not improve prosthesis simulator use more than mouse-and-keyboard control in able-bodied students. Scores rose over testing, but training groups did not beat control, so transfer was not shown.
• PTOTOther2024Accuracy and Reliability of Remote Categorization of Upper Limb Outcome After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairRemote video assessment matched in-person upper limb outcome for 88% at 3 months and 96% at 6 months. It was less accurate at the chronic stage, 75% and 79%, and for the Good and Limited categories.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024Digital tools for direct assessment of autism risk during early childhood: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceDigital tablet and smartphone tasks measuring social preference and motor movements consistently distinguished autistic children from typical peers in 38 pilot studies. These tools are brief and automated, but none are validated for clinical screening yet.
• PTOTRCT2023Effects of a Dedicated Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for Patients With Obesity on Body Weight, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Physical Fitness: The OPTICARE XL Randomized Controlled Trial.Physical therapyA specialized 1-year cardiac rehab program for patients with obesity produced greater weight loss than standard care at 3 months, but this advantage disappeared by 6 months. Neither program significantly improved physical activity or fitness compared to the other at the primary endpoint.
• PTOTOther2024A Novel, Wearable Inertial Measurement Unit for Stroke Survivors: Validity, Acceptability, and Usability.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationWearable sensors counted steps and active arm time close to video and research systems in 30 stroke survivors. Most found them comfortable, but 19 could not put on or remove a wrist sensor, so usability needs simpler wristbands.
• PTOTRCT2024Effects of the powerball® system on muscle strength, coordination, fatigue, functionality and quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis. A randomized clinical trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding PowerBall to physiotherapy did not improve grip strength, the main outcome, versus physiotherapy alone in people with multiple sclerosis. Coordination improved in both groups, so adding it did not show a clear benefit.
• PTOTOther2024Resting-state cortical electroencephalogram rhythms and network in patients after chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn chronic stroke, slow brain waves dominate the injured hemisphere while fast beta waves remain linked to arm function. High beta power and specific delta network patterns on the healthy side correlated with better hand movement, but asymmetry itself did not predict recovery.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Early Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity After Concussion Is Associated With Faster Symptom Resolution Time.Journal of sport rehabilitationAdolescents recovering from concussion who engaged in more than 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily resolved symptoms faster than those who did less. This association persisted even after adjusting for initial symptom severity and sex.
• PTOTRCT2024Effects of motor imagery-based neurofeedback training after bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on post-stroke upper limb motor function: an exploratory crossover clinical trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn 20 post-stroke adults, adding motor imagery neurofeedback to bilateral rTMS was associated with better upper limb movement scores than rTMS alone, but the trial had carry-over, no blinding, and usual rehab continued.
• PTOTCohort2024Predicting Delayed In-Hospital Recovery of Physical Function After Total Knee Arthroplasty.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationA prediction model for delayed recovery after knee replacement performed poorly. Preoperative walking aid use and mobility scores were associated with recovery time, but the model could not reliably distinguish high-risk patients from low-risk patients.
• OTCase Report2024Musician's dystonia in a percussionist - clinical video analysis and botulinum toxin intervention: a case report.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAfter shockwave therapy, glucocorticoid injection, and medication trials did not relieve a percussionist's involuntary finger movements, a 10-unit botulinum toxin injection was followed by subjective 60% better conga playing at 4 weeks. Benefit started to fade after 6 weeks. This is a single case, not proof.
• PTOTPilot2024Non-immersive virtual reality based treatment for children with unilateral cerebral palsy: Preliminary results.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineSix children with unilateral cerebral palsy accepted a non-immersive virtual reality upper-limb programme; some found it boring or tiring. Motor scores and daily hand use improved, but no control group means the VR treatment cannot be shown to cause the gains.
• PTOTOther2024Extended reality to assess post-stroke manual dexterity: contrasts between the classic box and block test, immersive virtual reality with controllers, with hand-tracking, and mixed-reality tests.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVirtual and mixed-reality box-and-block tests correlate strongly with the traditional test in stroke survivors, but score lower. Hand-tracking and mixed-reality versions were rated as more usable and similar in difficulty to the classic test than the controller-based version.
• OTPilot2024Implications of EMG channel count: enhancing pattern recognition online prosthetic testing.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIncreasing EMG channels from 8 to 16 did not significantly improve virtual prosthesis failure rates, but virtual movements became faster and more direct. Only two transradial users completed physical testing.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Comparison between the socio-educational profiles of children with verbal and non-verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder.CoDASChildren with verbal autism scored higher than those with non-verbal autism across all seven developmental areas, including imitation, perception, motor skills, and cognition. Age differences between the groups likely influenced these results, so the gap may not be due to language alone.
• OTCohort2024Visual-motor integration in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: application of the computer-aided measure of visual-motor integration.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with unilateral cerebral palsy showed poorer visual-motor integration when copying shapes. A computer-aided measure detected subtle errors in square copying that standard pass/fail tests missed. This suggests square copying is a key early indicator of visual-motor difficulties in this group.
• PTOTCohort2024Improved Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand scores after myoelectric arm orthosis use at home in chronic stroke: A retrospective study.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalIn 19 adults with chronic stroke, using a myoelectric arm orthosis at home was associated with a mean DASH score improvement of 18.07 points. Most participants reported better function, but this uncontrolled study cannot confirm the device caused the change.
• PTOTPilot2024A usability study on mobile EMG-guided wrist extension training in subacute stroke patients-MyoGuide.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSeven subacute stroke survivors rated a mobile EMG wrist-training app as good to excellent for usability. They liked the game and feedback, but most could not put the armband on or navigate the tablet alone, so home use needs better design and support.
• PTOTCohort2024Quadriceps femoris muscle ultrasound in sarcoidosis: an observational case-control study.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineWomen with stable sarcoidosis had thinner thigh muscles than healthy controls, but their hand grip strength was normal. Fatigue and lower leg function were linked, suggesting early muscle loss may not show up in standard strength tests.
• PTOTCohort2023Grip strength as a predictor for home discharge in convalescent rehabilitation patients.Journal of physical therapy scienceHigher grip strength at discharge was associated with discharge to home or serviced senior housing. Low grip strength may help flag patients who are less likely to be discharged home.
• PTOTRCT2024Synergistic efficacy of repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation on central intermittent theta burst stimulation for upper limb function in patients with stroke: a double-blinded, randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding peripheral magnetic stimulation to brain stimulation did not improve overall upper limb function more than brain stimulation alone. Both groups improved similarly. Only the combined group showed a significant gain in one grasp subtest, but this difference did not reach statistical significance when comparing the two groups directly.
• PTOTOther2023Influence of hand dominance, gender, and body mass index on hand grip strength.The South African journal of physiotherapyDominant hands were stronger than non-dominant hands in all groups. Grip strength correlated with height and BMI, but not weight. These norms for Ghanaian students can help set realistic targets for hand rehabilitation.
• PTOTRCT2024Unsupervised robot-assisted rehabilitation after stroke: feasibility, effect on therapy dose, and user experience.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTwelve of thirteen subacute stroke inpatients used a hand robot unsupervised without safety issues. They averaged 77% attendance and added about 6 hours of therapy over two weeks. Usability scores did not drop when the therapist left the room.
• PTOTSLPPilot2024Using mobile health technology to assess childhood autism in low-resource community settings in India: An innovation to address the detection gap.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceA tablet app assessing social, sensory and motor tasks identified 78% of children correctly across autism, intellectual disability and typical development groups. It was feasible for non-specialists in homes, but did not separate autism from intellectual disability.
• OTSystematic Review2024A systematic review of instrumented assessments for upper limb function in cerebral palsy: current limitations and future directions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationInstrumented upper limb assessments in cerebral palsy are mostly research tools, not ready guides for therapy. Studies rarely linked movement data to clinical outcomes and often missed children with bilateral or severe impairment.
• OTOther2024Fatigue in children using motor imagery and P300 brain-computer interfaces.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBCI tasks were not more fatiguing than a film, although fatigue rose after 30-minute tasks. The brain-wave fatigue marker did not match the reported fatigue.
• PTOTOther2023Effectiveness of locomotion training in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective clinical trial.Journal of physical therapy scienceSix months of home-based locomotion training reduced disability scores from 0.24 to 0.16 on a 3-point scale and lowered pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Without a control group, natural variation cannot be ruled out, but the exercises are simple and low-intensity.
• PTOTOther2024Detecting the symptoms of Parkinson's disease with non-standard video.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA machine learning model using smartphone videos of a finger-to-nose task correctly detected Parkinson's symptoms in 91% of cases. However, it failed to detect symptoms from hand rotation videos, and the system still requires manual identification of the patient in the frame.
• PTOTCase Report2024Utility and usability of a wearable system and progressive-challenge cued exercise program for encouraging use of the more involved arm at-home after stroke-a feasibility study with case reports.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn six chronic stroke survivors, a wearable app delivering 180 daily vibration cues prompted arm exercise in 98% of cases. Users rated usability high. This confirms the device works technically. It does not prove the exercises improved function or recovery.