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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 20 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTPilot2024Assessing hand motor function in chronic immune-mediated neuropathies: a proof-of-concept study using a data glove.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA data glove recorded lower range-of-motion scores in chronic immune-mediated neuropathy patients with hand impairment than in those without. Scores related to grip strength and disability. It may help assess hand function, but does not yet prove it guides treatment.
• PTOTRCT2024Encouraging arm use in stroke survivors: the impact of smart reminders during a home-based intervention.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSmart reminders increased objective arm activity counts in stroke survivors but did not improve patient-reported use or clinical function scores compared to controls. The functional gains were small and below clinically meaningful thresholds, with high data loss limiting certainty.
• PTOTCohort2024Free-living monitoring of ALS progression in upper limbs using wearable accelerometers.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWrist-worn accelerometers tracked upper limb movement decline in 202 people with ALS. Counts of flexion and extension dropped while duration increased, correlating with worsening ALSFRS-RSE scores. This objective monitoring may complement clinical scales for tracking progression.
• PTOTOther2024Predicting upper limb motor recovery in subacute stroke patients via fNIRS-measured cerebral functional responses induced by robotic training.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBrain activity measured during the first session of robotic arm training predicted short-term motor recovery better than resting scans. Combining these brain measures with basic clinical data improved accuracy, suggesting task-induced neural responses offer early prognostic insight for subacute stroke patients.
• PTOTOther2024Proportional myoelectric control of a virtual bionic arm in participants with hemiparesis, muscle spasticity, and impaired range of motion.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTen stroke survivors with hemiparesis, including four with severe spasticity, controlled a virtual hand by muscle activity. Grasp control was similar to healthy controls; paretic extension was less accurate. This does not show a physical device helps daily tasks.
• PTOTSLPOther2024Making Video Games More Inclusive for People Living With Motor Neuron Disease: Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesMost evidence on gaming for people with motor neuron disease comes from non-academic sources and lacks patient input. While customized controls and eye-gaze tech are common, 91% of reviewed papers did not include lived experience, so reliable guidance on what actually makes games fun or accessible is missing.
• PTOTCohort2024Development of a quantitative assessment for abnormal flexor synergy index in patients with stroke: a validity and responsiveness study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new markerless motion capture index tracks abnormal elbow flexion during shoulder lifting. It correlates with standard impairment scores and detects small functional gains after therapy. The test takes seconds, offering a quick quantitative measure for stroke rehabilitation.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Exploring the role of the rock climbing Treadwall as a novel therapy tool in physical rehabilitation.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationNine children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy used a rotating climbing wall for 10 minutes daily. They climbed significantly farther and faster after three weeks. Upper limb function scores improved. The study confirms feasibility and safety but cannot prove the wall caused the gains.
• PTOTOther2024Robotic Rigor: Validity of the Kinarm End-Point Robot Visually Guided Reaching Test in Multiple Sclerosis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationRobotic movement planning metrics correlated moderately with standard dexterity tests, and reaction time distinguished those reporting hand problems. Movement correction metrics showed no significant relationship with either clinical measure, suggesting they may assess distinct aspects of motor function.
• PTOTCase Report2024Cryoneurolysis and Quadriplegia: A Case Report on Pain and Severe Spasticity Management.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationA man with long-standing quadriplegia and severe spasticity had cryoneurolysis to hip and hand muscles. His hip and knee range of motion and hand function improved for months, and he regained some daily independence. This is one person's story, not proof the treatment works for others.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Clinical validation of an individualized auto-adaptative serious game for combined cognitive and upper limb motor robotic rehabilitation after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThe game automatically adjusted difficulty to match each person's motor and attention impairment levels. It reached an individualized challenge level within about 30 minutes, confirming the system works as designed for combined rehabilitation.
• PTOTRCT2025Myoelectric pattern recognition with virtual reality and serious gaming improves upper limb function in chronic stroke: a single case experimental design study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSix people with chronic stroke completed six weeks of high-dose training using myoelectric pattern recognition, virtual reality, and gaming. All six improved upper limb motor function, with five reaching the minimal clinically important difference. Follow-up data showed some deterioration.
• PTOTOther2025Insights into the dependence of post-stroke motor recovery on the initial corticospinal tract connectivity from a computational model.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA computer model suggests initial corticospinal tract strength shapes stroke upper-limb recovery. With stronger connectivity, people reached about 70% recovery quickly. With weaker connectivity, recovery was slower and more variable.
• OTSLPOther2024"I'm Trying to Reach Out, I'm Trying to Find My People": A Mixed-Methods Investigation of the Link Between Sensory Differences, Loneliness, and Mental Health in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults.Autism in adulthoodAutistic adults reported more loneliness, distress, anxiety, depression, and sensory differences than nonautistic adults. But loneliness was linked to distress similarly in both groups. Qualitative accounts described practical barriers, yearning for connection, and needing solitude after overwhelm.
• OTRCT2025Effects of home-based virtual reality upper extremity rehabilitation in persons with chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 14 people with chronic stroke, adding home VR task practice to weekly occupational therapy improved arm movement and hand use more than conventional home exercises with the same weekly therapy. The study was small and baseline scores differed.
• PTOTCohort2025Construct validity and responsiveness of clinical upper limb measures and sensor-based arm use within the first year after stroke: a longitudinal cohort study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationClinical scores and real-world arm use measure different things. A 4-point improvement in motor recovery did not guarantee patients felt better. Use arm use data to see how much patients actually use the arm, not just how well they can move it.
• PTOTPilot2025Effectiveness of a New Device for Hand, Wrist, and Forearm Rehabilitation: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesAdding the FEPSim device to standard hand therapy improved grip strength and passive wrist flexion more than standard equipment alone. However, patient-reported pain and disability did not show a difference between the groups. This small pilot trial suggests the device is feasible but requires a larger study to confirm its effectiveness.
• PTOTRCT2025Timing of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation to the nondominant primary motor cortex fails to modulate cortical hemodynamic activity and improve motor sequence learning.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStimulating the brain before or during a finger-tapping task made no difference to learning or brain activity in healthy older adults. Neither timing improved performance over sham stimulation, and no change in blood oxygen levels was detected.
• PTOTPilot2025PhantomAR: gamified mixed reality system for alleviating phantom limb pain in upper limb amputees-design, implementation, and clinical usability evaluation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEight transradial amputees used a mixed-reality virtual arm for one session and reported less phantom limb pain, with high usability. No control group means this shows feasibility, not proof it works.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Aquatic exercise interventions in the treatment of musculoskeletal upper extremity disorders: A scoping review.Clinical rehabilitationAquatic exercise for upper limb issues is almost exclusively studied in shoulder conditions, especially after rotator cuff repair. It is rarely delivered alone, usually mixed with land-based therapy, manual work, or injections. We cannot tell if the water itself adds benefit, and reporting is too poor to guide practice.
• OTPilot2024Preliminary development and evaluation of a mechanical handwriting assistive device to support individuals with movement disorders.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA mechanical pen holder helped six people with movement disorders write more legibly and faster. It stabilized the pen orientation and dampened tremors. The device is a prototype, so this shows potential rather than proven clinical effectiveness.
• PTOTCohort2025Muscle selection and dosing in patients undergoing treatment with abobotulinumtoxinA for lower limb spasticity in real-world practice.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn real-world practice, clinicians injected a median of 600 units of abobotulinumtoxinA into the lower limbs, targeting six specific muscles. Patients with upper limb spasticity received lower leg doses to stay within total body limits. Most also received concurrent therapy.
• PTOTCase-Control2024Interceptive abilities in autism spectrum disorder: Comparing naturalistic and virtual visuomotor tasks.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic boys caught fewer ping-pong balls than neurotypical boys in naturalistic and virtual tasks. Reaction time and quiet standing did not differ, so slower movement or poor balance did not explain the catching difference.
• PTOTOther2025Clinical Relevance of the Tonic Stretch Reflex Threshold and μ as Measures of Upper Limb Spasticity and Motor Impairment After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairA portable device measuring the elbow's stretch reflex threshold predicted 72% of upper limb motor impairment variance in stroke survivors. This offers a more objective way to define the specific joint range where muscle activation becomes disordered compared to standard clinical scales.
• PTOTOther2025Touchscreen-based assessment of upper limb kinematics after stroke: Reliability, validity and sensitivity to motor impairment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA large touchscreen reaching task produced consistent movement measures in 64 people after stroke and related to standard upper limb tests. In two extreme cases it distinguished best from worst function, but it is not evidence that it changes care.
• PTOTRCT2025Evaluation of a Game-Based Mechatronic Device for Rehabilitation of Hand-Arm Function in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesChildren with cerebral palsy using a game-based robotic handle improved hand dexterity and visual-motor skills more than those receiving standard physical therapy. All 34 children completed the 8-week program with no adverse events, suggesting the device is feasible and engaging for home or clinic use.
• PTOTCohort2024Upper Limb Function in People With Upper and Lower Limb Loss 8 Years Postinjury: The Armed Services Trauma Outcome Study (ADVANCE) Cohort Study.Physical therapyAt follow-up, lower limb loss alone did not produce clinically important upper limb disability compared with uninjured military personnel. Major and partial upper limb loss produced higher disability than uninjured and lower limb loss groups.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Factors associated with upper extremity use after stroke: a scoping review of accelerometry studies.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors' daily arm use is driven mainly by severity and motor capacity, not age, sex, or time since stroke. Therapists should use wearable sensors to spot patients who have the ability to use their arm but do not, as clinical observation often misses this gap.
• PTOTCohort2025Malnutrition and sarcopenia in inpatient rehabilitation: prevalence and associations with changes in bodyweight, muscle strength, and functional independence.Journal of rehabilitation medicineOver a third of inpatient rehab patients had malnutrition or sarcopenia. Strength and function improved during rehab, but malnourished patients were still weaker and less independent at discharge. Many at-risk patients lost weight, suggesting follow-up is needed.
• PTOTOther2025Quantifying arm swing in Parkinson's disease: a method accounting for arm activities during free-living gait.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new sensor method filters out arm activities like holding objects to measure arm swing during daily walking. In people with Parkinson's, this filtering revealed significantly larger increases in arm swing range after medication compared to unfiltered data. This offers a more sensitive tool for tracking treatment response in real-world settings.
• OTCohort2025Using a Functional Upper Limb Motor Task to Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn adults who were cognitively intact, had mild cognitive impairment, or had Alzheimer's disease, variability on a brief non-dominant hand spoon task predicted one-year change in function and a cognitive test. Average task time did not predict cognitive change.
• OTPilot2024Influence of chair seat forward tilt angle on upper limb dexterity improvement in seated tasks: a pilot study.Journal of physical therapy scienceWith a knee pad, a 30-degree forward seat tilt produced a mean of 32.5 pegboard pins in 60 seconds in 17 healthy men, versus 29.7 at 0 degrees and 30.6 at 15 degrees.
• OTSurvey2024Young Carers' Identification: Comparing Adolescents' and Parents' Perspectives.Child: care, health and developmentParents reported more household illness or disability than adolescents did, but adolescents reported more caring activities than parents did. Agreement on who was ill or disabled was low, so neither report alone captures young carers.
• PTOTOther2024The effect of non-pathological neck pain on hand grip strength in healthcare practitioners across three different head positions: a cross-sectional study design.Journal of physical therapy scienceAmong 46 healthcare workers, neck pain did not lower grip strength, and head position did not change grip strength overall. Grip was highest in neutral and lowest in extension, but the differences were not clear.
• PTOTSLPPilot2024Motion capture-based evaluation of lower chopstick stability.Journal of physical therapy scienceTen sessions of chopstick training with the non-dominant hand improved grip stability in healthy adults. Most gains appeared after five days, with no further improvement by day ten. This offers a short, measurable protocol for therapists working on hand dexterity.
• PTOTRCT2025Combined effects and timing of robotic training and botulinum toxin on upper limb spasticity and motor function: a single‑blinded randomized controlled pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn this small pilot, delaying robotic training until four weeks after botulinum toxin injection produced the greatest motor function gains. Spasticity reduction depended on the toxin alone, not the timing of the robot.
• PTOTSLPOther2025The REAsmash serious game for the post-stroke diagnosis of distractor inhibition: contrast between immersive and non-immersive virtual reality test versions.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicinePost-stroke participants were slower than healthy controls on a serious game testing distractor inhibition. Immersive VR caused slower responses than non-immersive screens. However, the pattern of errors remained consistent across both VR types and groups, suggesting the test measures the same cognitive skill regardless of the device used.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Submovements in manual tracking: people with Parkinson's disease produce more submovements than age-matched controls.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with Parkinson's made more small corrective movements and had larger timing and position errors than controls during manual tracking. This held true across all tested speeds. Older adults without Parkinson's showed similar error patterns to younger adults regarding movement smoothness.
• OTOther2025The association of upper limb sensorimotor capacity, everyday inpatient behavior, and the effects of neurorehabilitation in persons with multiple sclerosis and stroke: a mixed-design study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn inpatient rehab, people with MS or stroke made fewer upper-limb movements per minute than healthy adults. Everyday movement matched lab tests only weakly, and rehab gains did not clearly translate into daily behavior.
• PTOTCohort2025Rehabilitation training robot using mirror therapy for the upper and lower limb after stroke: a prospective cohort study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobot training did not improve daily living independence more than standard therapy. It increased shoulder flexor strength in upper-limb users and hip, knee, and ankle strength in lower-limb users. Brain scans showed connectivity changes in both groups. Standard care remains the benchmark for functional independence.
• PTOTOther2024Relationships between life-space mobility, physical function, and empowerment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Journal of physical therapy scienceLife-space mobility was not related to empowerment scores in stable outpatients with COPD. It was related to 6-minute walk distance and %FVC.
• PTOTSLPOther2024Characteristics of upper limb joint mechanics with increased cane dependence during walking.Journal of physical therapy scienceHealthy young men walking with a cane bearing 20% of body weight showed significantly higher positive joint work at the shoulder and elbow compared to no cane. Wrist work did not increase further from 10% to 20% load. This mechanical stress pattern was not observed in clinical populations.
• PTOTCohort2025Modeling Upper Limb Rehabilitation-Induced Recovery After Stroke: The Role of Attention as a Clinical Confounder.Physical therapyIn stroke patients receiving about 1.5 hours of daily therapy, the amount of rehabilitation did not predict upper limb recovery. Baseline motor function was the only significant predictor. Attention levels confounded the results, suggesting cognitive status may mask rehabilitation effects.
• PTOTOther2025Investigating the cortical effect of false positive feedback on motor learning in motor imagery based rehabilitative BCI training.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn four stroke patients, false feedback during hand brain-computer training did not clearly change peak brain activation. In healthy volunteers, training without false feedback produced stronger activation, like active movement.
• OTCohort2025Factors Associated With Depression in Caregivers of Adults With Down Syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRCaregiver depression linked to their own distress and low quality of life, plus weaker grip strength in the adults with Down syndrome they cared for. Other physical measures showed no link. The sample was tiny and all caregivers were female.
• PTOTCase Series2025A Technology System to Help People With Multiple Disabilities Increase Contact With Objects and Control Environmental Stimulation: Single-Case Research Design.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA webcam-based system successfully helped 8 adults with severe multiple disabilities increase their contact with objects. The participants controlled their own stimulation by touching items, proving the sensor worked reliably without needing physical attachments to the objects or the person.
• PTOTOther2024Intra- and inter-rater reliability of goniometric finger range of motion using a written protocol.Archives of physiotherapyUsing a written protocol, a single therapist measuring the same patient twice got consistent finger range of motion results. But different therapists measuring the same patient got much less consistent results. Stick to one examiner for tracking changes.
• PTOTRCT2025MEP Status is Not Predictive of Response to Upper Limb Training in People With Chronic, Moderate-Severe Hemiparesis Post-Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn chronic moderate-to-severe stroke, a motor evoked potential before upper limb training did not predict arm improvement. People with and without a baseline MEP improved similarly, with similar proportions achieving a 6-point improvement. MEP status alone did not help predict response.
• PTOTRCT2025EEG-fMRI neurofeedback versus motor imagery after stroke, a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors with partial upper limb impairment who trained with EEG-fMRI neurofeedback improved more on arm function scores than those doing motor imagery alone. The gains held at one month, but the study was small and the neurofeedback felt harder.
• PTOTSLPOther2024Relationship between scapular internal rotation and upper-trunk movements during right and left hand-behind-back movements.Journal of physical therapy scienceScapular movement during hand-behind-back tasks is linked to trunk motion, but the direction differs by side. Right-hand movement correlated with trunk uprighting, while left-hand movement correlated with trunk forward flexion and rotation. Assess trunk posture separately for each side.