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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 24 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPOther2026Establishing levels of arm-hand activities in stroke patients: the arm-hand-activities-scale (AHAS).Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe Arm-Hand-Activities-Scale (AHAS) is a quick, 5-category observational tool that reliably classifies arm function in stroke patients. It correlates strongly with standard measures, is easy for clinicians and patients to understand, and captures what patients actually do in daily life rather than just their maximum capacity.
• OTCase-Control2026EEG microstate features under visual feedback gain conditions exhibit high sensitivity in identifying early Parkinson's disease patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEEG patterns during a grip task with amplified visual feedback separated early Parkinson's patients from healthy controls perfectly in this small study. Independent testing is needed.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026The Accuracy of the PREP2 Prediction Tool for Upper Limb Outcomes After Stroke as Part of Routine Clinical Care.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPREP2 predictions by clinicians missed the 70% accuracy target overall. It worked well for patients with a SAFE score of 5 or higher and those with no motor response to stimulation. Accuracy was poor for those needing stimulation who showed a motor response.
• PTOTCohort2026Short prescribed exercises can quantify upper limb functioning in neurodegenerative disease.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWearing a wrist sensor during a five-minute arm-swing exercise at home tracked ALS upper limb decline as well as continuous monitoring did, while avoiding the drop-off in compliance that comes with wearing a device all day.
• PTOTCohort2026Correlation between controlled-pressure provocative test duration and electrodiagnostic severity in carpal tunnel syndrome.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe time it takes for symptoms to appear during a controlled-pressure test does not predict carpal tunnel syndrome severity. A quick reaction does not mean worse nerve damage. Clinicians should not use test duration to grade severity or guide treatment decisions.
• PTOTCase Report2025Case Report: Focused shockwave therapy (fESWT) in thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis: a single case study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn one woman with thumb osteoarthritis, focused shockwave therapy was followed by less pain, better grip and lower disability over a year. This is a single case, so it cannot show the treatment works.
• PTOTSLPRCT2026Escitalopram promotes recovery from hand paresis in cortical sensori-motor stroke: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled longitudinal study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEscitalopram plus occupational therapy improved fine finger dexterity and brain activation patterns more than placebo plus therapy over nine months in acute stroke. However, the study was tiny, so this is a signal for larger trials, not a reason to change practice.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Elevated autistic features in Parkinson's disease and other motor disorders.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic traits were elevated in both Parkinson's and other motor disorders compared to controls. The difference was specific to males; females showed no group differences. This suggests a broad link between motor conditions and autistic features, not one unique to Parkinson's.
• PTOTPilot2026Task complexity amplifies spatial asymmetry of muscle synergy plasticity in chronic stroke survivors.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn a small pilot, high-complexity tasks like drinking revealed greater muscle synergy asymmetry between stroke-affected and unaffected arms. This asymmetry correlated with worse motor function and higher spasticity, suggesting complex tasks may better detect impairment.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Defining Severity Levels for Post-Stroke Upper Limb Motor Impairment and Activity Limitation: A Systematic Review.NeuroRehabilitationCurrent clinical language for post-stroke arm severity is inconsistent. Most studies use 'mild, moderate, severe' but define these terms differently, and cut-off scores on common tests like the Fugl-Meyer overlap significantly. This makes it difficult to compare patients or trials.
• PTOTOther2026Automated video analysis for early detection of bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAn AI system analyzing finger-tapping videos accurately distinguished people with Parkinson's disease from healthy controls, even when clinicians rated the movement as normal or only slightly impaired. This suggests subtle motor signs invisible to the eye can be detected objectively.
• OTOther2026Machine learning-based study of the predictors of clinically important change in patient-reported outcomes in bilateral upper-limb function in patients receiving robotic stroke rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn 123 people after stroke, machine-learning models could identify likely responders to six-week bimanual robotic therapy reasonably well. Time since stroke, quick task completion, and self-rated physical function stood out most often.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Active upper-limb therapies for hand function, individual goal achievement, and self-care in children with cerebral palsy: A network meta-analysis.Developmental medicine and child neurologyModified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) and bimanual training (BiM) consistently improve hand function, goal achievement, and self-care in children with cerebral palsy. Action observation also improves bimanual hand function. No single therapy is clearly superior to the others for hand function, allowing choice based on child and family preference.
• PTOTCohort2025Pain characterization in osteosarcopenia: an exploratory study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPain was reported by 78.6% of 42 patients with osteosarcopenia, mostly in the lower back. Severity correlated with poorer balance and gait speed, but not with bone density. This suggests pain in this group is linked to muscle function rather than bone structure.
• PTOTQualitative2026Design Recommendations for Virtual Reality-Based Upper Limb Exercises From People With Tetraplegia and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Specialists: Focus Group Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPeople with tetraplegia and therapists identified key barriers to VR use in acute rehab: headsets are heavy and unsafe for high-level injuries, and nausea or reminders of disability cause disengagement. They recommended flexible, accessible designs over consumer-grade systems.
• PTOTRCT2026Preventing slowing down of alpha rhythms in stroke patients through modulation of cortical excitatory-inhibitory balance: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding bilateral tDCS to virtual reality upper-limb training helped stroke patients keep improving for 12 weeks after discharge, while the sham group stalled. However, this benefit came from the combination with standard rehab, and the mechanism was not the predicted change in brain rhythms.
• PTOTSLPPilot2026Enhancing Knee Joint Proprioception in Healthy Adults Through Exergame Training With Augmented Feedback: Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesHealthy adults using an exergame with sound feedback improved knee position accuracy more than those using visual feedback alone. However, participants could see their legs during testing, so the study proves better motor learning, not necessarily improved proprioception.
• OTRCT2026Three-dimensional assessment of finger individuation reveals finger- and joint-specific selective motor control deficits in children with cerebral palsy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with cerebral palsy had lower ability to isolate finger forces, especially index and ring fingers. In the preferred hand, better finger control went with better pegboard, block, and manipulation scores. This is an assessment finding, not a treatment effect.
• PTOTPilot2026Drumming with BEAT: a pilot study on the impact of drum set playing on motor control and quality of life in Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesThree people with Parkinson's disease played a drum set for six weeks. All showed some improvement in balance and upper limb speed, but mood and quality of life scores were inconsistent. The program was feasible and engaging, but this small study cannot prove it works.
• PTOTRCT2026Guided corticomuscular neuroplasticity for restoration of wrist-hand function post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationGuided brain-computer interface training improved wrist-hand function and shifted brain activity to the affected hemisphere. However, it triggered less often than standard bilateral training, which showed faster initial gains and greater spasticity reduction. The guided approach demands more effort but targets specific neural reorganization.
• PTOTOther2026Decoding multi-class motor attempt from the affected unilateral limbs in chronic stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new computer algorithm correctly identified which of four unilateral movements a chronic stroke patient was attempting to make 52.79% of the time. This outperformed nine other decoding models, but the high error rate and long processing time mean it is not yet ready for real-time clinical rehabilitation.
• PTOTPilot2025Promoting continuous rehabilitation with AI-based motion capture and biomechanical analysis: objective feedback as a catalyst.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesObjective feedback on shoulder movement improved exercise motivation for one month in older adults with stroke, diabetes, or foot deformity. Motivation dropped off after four weeks. The effect was absent in participants with Parkinson's disease, who declined regardless of feedback.
• PTOTPilot2026Evaluation of a Stretching Forearm Sleeve for Lateral Epicondylitis: Repeated Measures Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesNineteen adults with tennis elbow wore a stretching sleeve for 30 minutes daily for 12 weeks. Pain-free grip strength and self-reported pain improved significantly, but without a control group, natural recovery cannot be ruled out.
• PTOTPilot2026AI-based video analysis for the assessment of upper limb function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: feasibility of remote monitoring.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAn AI model accurately classified upper limb impairment severity in children with unilateral cerebral palsy from routine handheld clinic videos. The tool achieved high discrimination across all four assessment indices, suggesting it could support remote monitoring and reduce clinician scoring burden.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2026The effectiveness of robotic therapy in reducing upper limb spasticity in stroke survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobotic therapy produced small reductions in elbow and wrist flexor tone compared with conventional therapy, but not shoulder tone. Hand-only devices did not reduce tone, and daily independence did not clearly improve.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Outcomes and standardized tools in telehealth physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy: A scoping review using the ICF framework.Developmental medicine and child neurologyTelehealth physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy is mostly assessed in person, not remotely. While some questionnaires and specific movement tests show promise for remote use, most standardized tools still require clinical settings, limiting the ability to track real-world functional changes.
• PTOTCohort2026Recruitment of the central nervous system in different hand tasks in patients with hand dysfunction after stroke based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy: an exploratory study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn 30 stroke patients, affected-hand grasping activated more brain regions and stronger connectivity than bilateral hand-cranking. This suggests grasping demands greater motor planning and cognitive resources, though small sample size limits clinical application.
• PTOTCohort2026Comparison of the predictive value of upper limb somatosensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potentials for functional recovery in subacute stroke: a retrospective study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn subacute stroke, normal somatosensory evoked potentials predicted better daily living independence, while motor evoked potentials predicted better hand dexterity. Neither test strongly predicted upper limb motor recovery. Baseline function and length of stay were the strongest predictors of discharge outcomes.
• PTOTOther2026Translation, reliability, and validity of the trunk impairment scale in a Polish population after stroke.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe Polish Trunk Impairment Scale is reliable for stroke patients with moderate-to-severe trunk issues, but it fails to distinguish those with mild impairment because 46% of participants hit the maximum score. Use it to track progress in patients who struggle with sitting balance, not to assess those who are nearly recovered.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Comparison of Upper Body Joint and Hand Motions in Eating Solid Foods With Chopsticks and Semisolid Foods With a Spoon in Healthy Males and Females: Observational Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesEating solid food with chopsticks requires less shoulder and neck movement but more elbow and forearm rotation than eating semisolid food with a spoon. Hand movements are slower and cover less distance with chopsticks. These kinematic differences help clinicians select appropriate utensils.
• PTOTPilot2026Towards the implementation of home-based phantom limb pain training facilitated by a textile-electrode system: lessons learned from a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSix amputees found a textile electrode band for home phantom pain training easy to use and comfortable. Two completed the full 24-week program and reported less pain and better quality of life. Three others withdrew, with pain increases cited as a reason.
• OTOther2026Biomechanical assessment of grasping postures in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis when holding adaptive silverware.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesBuilt-up spoon handles reduced the finger bending needed to hold them. In 35 adults with rheumatoid arthritis, larger handles meant less bending, especially in the middle joints of the fingers, and 29 chose the 1.50 inch handle.
• OTCase Series2026Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Upper Extremity Rehabilitation for Chronic Stroke: Real-World Implementation and Outcomes.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn a case series of 35 chronic stroke patients, those receiving paired VNS therapy with occupational therapy showed an average 10.8-point improvement on upper extremity motor scores. Most exceeded the minimal clinically important difference. However, without a control group, it is unclear if the VNS device or the intensive therapy drove these gains.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2025Autism and the Menopause Transition: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.Autism in adulthoodAutistic people assigned female at birth described menopause as harder to understand and manage, with sensory overload, fatigue, sleep problems, thinking and memory changes, and work strain. Online peer support helped, while healthcare often felt dismissive or unsafe.
• OTRCT2026Usability and effectiveness of a novel bilateral upper limb training device for stroke patients with hemiparesis: a pilot randomized controlled study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTraining with the device plus occupational therapy did not improve upper limb scores more than conventional bilateral training plus occupational therapy. Both groups improved similarly, and usability was acceptable.
• PTOTCohort2026Characterizing visual compensation for proprioceptive impairments during the subacute phase of stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationMost stroke survivors improved arm position sense by 26 weeks, but 22%, 13%, and 9% still could not fully compensate for errors by looking at their arm.
• PTOTOther2026Manual Dexterity in Patients with Disorder of Consciousness.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn 60 patients with disorders of consciousness, more hand movement was linked to minimally conscious state, while arm movement was not. Check both hands when assessing consciousness; this is an association, not proof of treatment effect.
• PTOTRCT2026Effects of serial thermal brine hand baths on hand osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineFor painful hand osteoarthritis, six thermal brine hand baths over three weeks reduced pain more than sham tap water. The difference was 26.4 points on a 0 to 100 mm pain scale, above the 20 mm important difference, and lasted 12 weeks.
• PTOTPilot2026Neural Effects of Low-Frequency Acupoint Electrical Stimulation Therapy on Patients With Poststroke Motor Dysfunction: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPatients with subacute stroke who received low-frequency acupoint electrical stimulation showed improved motor function and daily living scores. Brain scans revealed increased activity in the right motor network and decreased activity in the left cerebellum. Changes in the right motor area correlated with better motor recovery.
• PTOTCase Report2026Case Report: Application of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in medial epicondylitis with concomitant ulnar nerve instability: a case series with long-term follow-up.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesTwo of three patients reported large pain reductions and regained function after shockwave therapy for medial elbow tendinopathy with ulnar nerve instability. One patient saw no change. No complications occurred. These cases suggest potential benefit but do not prove efficacy.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Does more rehabilitation lead to better upper limb outcomes after stroke? A systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIncreasing upper-limb therapy dose showed a positive effect on Fugl-Meyer scores but not on Action Research Arm Test scores overall. Significant gains on the arm test only appeared when therapy time was more than doubled, suggesting a high dose is needed for functional change.
• OTPilot2026Feasibility study of the assessment of upper limb function in children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy using an end-effector robotic device.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA robotic upper limb assessment was feasible in 28 children with unilateral cerebral palsy: all completed it, and children and clinicians rated it acceptable. The robot gave movement data linked to hand function, but it is not yet a clinical measure.
• PTOTQualitative2026Commonalities in rehabilitation data across diverse health conditions: a comparison of seven large European databases.Journal of rehabilitation medicineRehabilitation databases across Europe share some categories, but no variables are common to all. They mostly record biomedical and impairment data, with activities, participation and psychosocial factors underrepresented.
• PTOTCohort2025Presence of transthyretin amyloidosis cardiomyopathy influences the prognosis of patients with acute decompensated heart failure undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.Journal of physical therapy sciencePatients with heart failure and transthyretin amyloidosis had similar physical function gains from rehab but much higher death and rehospitalization rates. Good discharge scores did not predict their poor outcomes. Clinicians should not assume rehab success means a safe prognosis in this group.
• PTOTOther2026Resting-state and task-state fNIRS fusion assessment method for upper limb motor function in stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCombining resting and hand-grasp fNIRS measures with clinical data predicted upper-limb Fugl-Meyer scores better than either fNIRS measure alone. Cortical stroke predictions were closest. Subcortical stroke predictions remained less accurate.
• PTOTOther2026Make it fun but keep it simple: EEG reveals the impact of easy yet engaging games for stroke rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors showed a brain pattern linked to effort only during the visually engaging game, not the plain version. Increasing difficulty made the task harder but did not increase this brain activation. For your patients, keeping games simple and engaging may support attention better than adding challenges.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2026Case Report: A period-based upper limb rehabilitation program using a degrees-of-freedom constraint strategy in severe post-stroke hemiparesis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn one patient with severe post-stroke arm weakness, a three-phase program using gravity support, electrical stimulation, and orthoses to progressively release joint constraints was associated with reduced spasticity, less pain, and slight motor improvement. This is a single case, not evidence of efficacy.
• PTOTCohort2025Characteristics of physical function and body composition among community-dwelling older females with and without locomotive syndrome.Journal of physical therapy scienceOlder women with locomotive syndrome had similar body composition to those without, but showed worse balance and slower walking. Physical performance tests, not body scans, better identified those needing care.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Specific components of manual dexterity are affected in patients with writer's cramp: an observational comparative study and preliminary rehabilitation report.Journal of rehabilitation medicineWriter's cramp does not cause a general loss of manual dexterity. Patients showed normal finger tapping speed and force control, but reduced finger selectivity. This impaired independence correlated with poorer handwriting legibility. Preliminary rehabilitation improved selectivity and automated legibility, but not writing speed.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Cortical beta coherence provides a stronger non-invasive predictor of movement vigor than local beta power.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor healthy adults, brain connectivity between motor and fronto-parietal regions predicted movement speed more consistently than local motor activity. This connectivity marker showed a stable direction across participants, unlike local activity which varied randomly, suggesting a better target for future non-invasive stimulation.