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 4 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTOther2017Reorganization of finger coordination patterns through motor exploration in individuals after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors got faster at a cursor task and showed wider free finger movement after training, but the main finger pattern did not change more from the first to the last training session. There was no control group.
• OTOther2018Use of a visual feedback-equipped reacher in reach-to-grasp movements.Journal of physical therapy scienceHealthy college students used a reacher with visual feedback and moved with less muscle effort and smoother wrist motion. The study did not test patients or daily activities, so it suggests a design benefit but does not prove improved patient outcomes.
• OTOther2018The effect of fine motor skills on handwriting legibility in preschool age children.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 52 preschoolers, better fine motor precision and faster in-hand manipulation were linked to more legible Korean alphabet writing. Fine motor precision was the strongest link, reported at sixty percent. This is association, not proof that training improves handwriting.
• PTOTOther2018Motion-plane dependency of the range of dart throw motion and the effects of tendon action due to finger extrinsic muscles during the motion.Journal of physical therapy scienceThe wrist dart-throw path is not a single fixed range; it changes with forearm angle, often largest near the middle angle. Grip thickness affected motion only at some angles, so finger tendon action may matter but was inconsistent.
• PTOTCase-Control2018Effects of anterior weight-shifting methods on sitting balance in wheelchair-dependent patients with spinal cord injury.Journal of physical therapy scienceWheelchair users with spinal cord injury reached further forward and moved their center of pressure more when extending arms than crossing them. Adding a ball changed little for them, unlike healthy adults. Arm position matters more than holding an object for sitting balance.
• PTOTOther2017Pattern of improvement in upper limb pointing task kinematics after a 3-month training program with robotic assistance in stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAfter 3 months of combined robot-assisted shoulder/elbow training and conventional occupational therapy, upper-limb scores and robot-measured reaching improved. Shoulder/elbow improved before wrist/hand; distance, velocity and smoothness improved before accuracy. The study cannot separate the two treatments.
• OTRCT2017Restoration of motor control and proprioceptive and cutaneous sensation in humans with prior upper-limb amputation via multiple Utah Slanted Electrode Arrays (USEAs) implanted in residual peripheral arm nerves.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationNerve-electrode implants with surgery, antibiotics, dexamethasone, phantom movement practice, and gabapentin in S3 produced up to five formal virtual-hand movements, up to twelve informal movements, and up to 131 sensations in two upper-limb amputees. Arrays were unstable.
• PTOTRCT2017Effects of concentric contraction of the wrists and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation cycle on pain and muscle strength in lateralepicondylitis patients.Journal of physical therapy scienceBoth groups reduced pain. Doing wrist exercises at the same time as TENS improved grip strength more than doing exercises after TENS. The study was small and short, so this difference is tentative.
• PTOTOther2017Effects of virtual reality intervention on upper limb motor function and activity of daily living in patients with lesions in different regions of the brain.Journal of physical therapy scienceAfter 4 weeks of VR games, upper-limb and daily-living scores were higher in 14 people with hemiplegic stroke. With no control group, these gains cannot be proven to be from VR.
• PTOTCohort2017Less-Affected Hand Function in Children With Hemiparetic Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Comparison Study With Typically Developing Peers.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairChildren with hemiparetic cerebral palsy took 21.4 seconds longer on hand function tests with their less-affected hand compared to typical peers. This subtle deficit suggests therapists should assess and treat the less-affected hand, not just the weaker one.
• PTOTOther2017A composite robotic-based measure of upper limb proprioception.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA robotic test identifies proprioceptive impairment in over 60% of stroke patients, detecting more cases than standard clinical exams. This composite score offers a precise, objective measure for tracking recovery and evaluating rehabilitation treatments.
• PTOTPilot2017Effects of somatosensory electrical stimulation on motor function and cortical oscillations.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAfter one 2-hour sensory nerve electrical stimulation session, eight people with chronic acquired brain injury moved their fingers more independently and completed hand tasks faster. The pilot had no control group, so this cannot show the treatment works.
• PTOTOther2017The effect of fluidotherapy on hand dexterity and activities of daily living in patients with edema on stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceThree weeks of fluidotherapy significantly reduced hand edema in stroke patients and improved daily living independence, but did not significantly improve hand dexterity. The study had no control group, so natural recovery cannot be ruled out.
• OTOther2017Assessing the adjustability of grasping force using the iWakka in elderly individuals.Journal of physical therapy scienceWhen older adults repeated the same grasping force task on the iWakka, their first and second scores shifted by a consistent small amount, but the error did not grow with larger targets.
• PTOTOther2017Mapping upper-limb motor performance after stroke - a novel method with utility for individualized motor training.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA robot-based reaching map identified individual upper-limb impairment patterns after chronic stroke and was used to select training movements. In two adults, no controlled outcome tested whether this improves function.
• OTOther2017Cognition among community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury.Rehabilitation psychologyCommunity-dwelling adults with spinal cord injury scored lower than matched controls on fluid cognition, especially speed and executive tasks. Crystallized cognition was similar.
• OTCase Report2018Case-study of a user-driven prosthetic arm design: bionic hand versus customized body-powered technology in a highly demanding work environment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor one forensic pathologist with below-elbow amputation, a customized body-powered arm supported heavy, sweaty, slippery work better than a myoelectric iLimb. This is one person's experience, not proof either arm works.
• PTOTPilot2018Upper limb robotic rehabilitation for chronic stroke survivors: a single-group preliminary study.Journal of physical therapy scienceAfter six weeks of assist-as-needed arm robot training, 21 high-functioning chronic stroke survivors had higher upper limb scores and faster reaching. No control group was used, so the robot alone cannot be credited.
• OTOther2018The Relationship Between Hand Function and Overlapping Motor Representations of the Hands in the Contralesional Hemisphere in Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairThe size and excitability of the affected hand motor map were not related to hand function in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy. Overlap with the less-affected hand motor map was related. This is a mapping finding, not evidence that therapy works.
• PTOTOther2018The Tyneside Pegboard Test: development, validation, and observations in unilateral cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyThe Tyneside Pegboard Test measures bimanual coordination separately from hand speed. In children with unilateral cerebral palsy, bimanual scores correlate with affected-hand function, while dominant-hand speed does not. This test identifies coordination deficits that single-hand assessments miss.
• PTOTRCT2018Accelerating Stroke Recovery: Body Structures and Functions, Activities, Participation, and Quality of Life Outcomes From a Large Rehabilitation Trial.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairThe trial's main motor outcome showed no group difference at 1 year. In secondary outcomes, ASAP produced faster early gains in confidence, function, participation and quality of life; usual care caught up by 12 months.
• OTCohort2018Longitudinal development of thalamic and internal capsule microstructure in autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn verbal autistic males, thalamus and posterior internal capsule brain tissue changed differently with age, but anterior internal capsule did not. Finger-tapping speed was linked to posterior internal capsule tissue in both groups.
• PTOTOther2018Pinch aperture proprioception: reliability and feasibility study.Journal of physical therapy scienceHealthy adults reproduced a thumb-index pinch position with average error under 2 percent over two days. Finger vibration made most undershoot. Two patients with diabetic neuropathy also undershot, but this small device test is not yet proven for clinical decisions.
• PTOTCohort2018What Types of Treatment Are Provided for Patients With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? A Retrospective Analysis of Commercial Insurance.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost commercially insured patients with carpal tunnel syndrome received no documented treatment or only one visit. Splinting was the most common early conservative care. Surgery occurred in 24% of patients, typically after initial conservative management. Actual practice largely matched guideline recommendations.
• PTOTNarrative Review2018Soft robotic devices for hand rehabilitation and assistance: a narrative review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOf 44 soft robotic hand devices, 20 were portable, 12 had clear safety mechanisms, and 13 detected user intent. Many are early prototypes, and there is little clinical evidence for any particular design.
• PTOTRCT2018Pilot testing of the spring operated wearable enhancer for arm rehabilitation (SpringWear).Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSpringWear did not consistently help 13 chronic stroke patients complete functional tasks, although it increased maximum shoulder flexion, elbow extension and forearm rotation, and increased forward reach workspace by 19%.
• OTPilot2018Online mapping of EMG signals into kinematics by autoencoding.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn a small group of able-bodied people, an autoencoder muscle-signal control moved a cursor faster and with better path efficiency than standard sequential control. This is a lab feasibility test, not evidence for amputee prostheses.
• PTOTRCT2018Efficacy of dietary supplement with nutraceutical composed combined with extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields in carpal tunnel syndrome.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn carpal tunnel syndrome, adding a nutraceutical to electromagnetic-field therapy did not improve pain or symptoms more than placebo with the same electromagnetic-field therapy. Both groups improved after treatment; the nutraceutical group still reported improvement at 3 months.
• PTOTOther2018The validity and reliability of the Test of Arm Selective Control for children with cerebral palsy: a prospective cross-sectional study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyThe TASC can rate selective arm control in children with cerebral palsy, and therapists scored it consistently. It took about 16 minutes, tracked hand function and arm involvement, and did not test treatment change.
• PTOTOther2018Quantification of upper limb position sense using an exoskeleton and a virtual reality display.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA robot and virtual arm let 30 healthy adults identify the smallest elbow angle differences of 7.0 and 5.9 degrees. Repeated scores were fair to good, but shifted slightly after one week, and only healthy adults were tested.
• OTRCT2018Evaluation of EMG pattern recognition for upper limb prosthesis control: a case study in comparison with direct myoelectric control.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEMG pattern recognition did not beat direct myoelectric control in one transradial amputee using a 2-DOF prosthesis. Most outcomes were similar, several favored direct control, and dexterity declined one week after pattern recognition training.
• OTRCT2018The clinical relevance of advanced artificial feedback in the control of a multi-functional myoelectric prosthesis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn six upper-limb prosthesis users, vibration feedback added to prosthesis training helped some complex tasks become faster but did not help a simple block task. Users found it useful, and benefit changed with practice and task.
• PTOTRCT2018Reliability, validity and discriminant ability of the instrumental indices provided by a novel planar robotic device for upper limb rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobot scores from a simple reaching task were stable day-to-day in 48 subacute stroke patients and matched arm function scales. Time and speed changed on retest, so give a familiarization trial before using them to track recovery.
• PTOTRCT2018Ergonomic behaviour of learners in a digitally driven school environment: Modification using an ergonomic intervention programme.The South African journal of physiotherapyA single 45-minute school session on posture, bag weight, and stretches, reinforced by stickers and web links, improved computer posture in adolescents over six months. The intervention group had no learners in the highest risk postural category at follow-up, unlike the control group.
• OTSystematic Review2017The optimal orthosis and motion protocol for extensor tendon injury in zones IV-VIII: A systematic review.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsEarly active motion after proximal extensor tendon repair gave better early finger motion and grip strength than static immobilization. Immediate relative motion protocols returned patients to light duties around 3 weeks versus 9.4 weeks with static orthoses.
• PTOTSystematic Review2017Effectiveness of edema management techniques for subacute hand edema: A systematic review.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsFor subacute hand edema after trauma, surgery, or stroke, evidence is low to moderate and mixed. Adding manual edema mobilization to elevation, exercise, and compression may help troublesome swelling, but no particular technique is proven.
• PTOTSurvey2017Examination of the PROMIS upper extremity item bank.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsThe PROMIS UE CAT worked well in orthopaedic patients with upper extremity problems, but most items targeted lower function and missed higher function. Use caution when your patient may have higher upper extremity ability.
• PTOTOther2018Reference values of intrinsic muscle strength of the hand of adolescents and young adults.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsIn adolescents and young adults, intrinsic hand muscle strength differed by sex and hand dominance, but age alone did not appear to influence strength.
• OTOther2018Coactivation index of children with congenital upper limb reduction deficiencies before and after using a wrist-driven 3D printed partial hand prosthesis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with congenital partial hand reductions had higher wrist flexor coactivation on the affected side. After 6 months using a 3D printed wrist-driven prosthesis, flexor coactivation fell by 70% affected versus 30% non-affected; no clear strength gain was shown.
• PTOTRCT2018Reliability, validity, and clinical feasibility of a rapid and objective assessment of post-stroke deficits in hand proprioception.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA robot test of finger position sense took about 12.3 minutes and was repeatable on the stroke-affected hand, but it did not match bedside sensory tests and was not repeatable on the less affected hand.
• PTOTNarrative Review2018Rehabilitation robots for the treatment of sensorimotor deficits: a neurophysiological perspective.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobot-assisted therapy can increase repetitions and standardize training, and may help walking recovery, but many devices lack clinical evaluation and superiority over dose-matched conventional therapy is not established.
• OTSLPOther2018Quantitative evaluation of handwriting: factors that affect pen operating skills.Journal of physical therapy scienceTracing accuracy depends on pen pressure variability, not just force or speed. Pressing harder increased wrist angles and reduced accuracy, while writing faster also reduced accuracy. For therapists, measuring how much pen pressure fluctuates may be more useful than total force when assessing handwriting control.
• PTOTCohort2018Does Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Have an Added Value to Clinical Assessment in Predicting Upper-Limb Function Very Early After Severe Stroke?Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAdding TMS to the SAFE clinical test did not improve 6-month upper-limb prediction. At 11 days, SAFE plus TMS was better than TMS alone, but not better than SAFE alone.
• OTCohort2018Hand luggage in the train toilet.Work (Reading, Mass.)No participant used the high train toilet hook. Travellers kept hand luggage on their bodies, and the body was the most common place. A lower hook was used only occasionally.
• PTOTRCT2018Early Shortening of Wrist Flexor Muscles Coincides With Poor Recovery After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPatients whose arm recovery after stroke was poor already had shorter wrist flexor muscles and stiffer wrist tissue around week 4 or 5. Reflex torque differences appeared later, around week 12. With 36 patients, this cannot show that shortening caused poor recovery.
• OTPilot2018Decoding the grasping intention from electromyography during reaching motions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEMG during reaching predicted grasp types better in later phases than early. The tested algorithms did not clearly differ. In one real-time test, all-phase training was faster and more accurate than final-phase training.
• PTOTRCT2018Assisting hand function after spinal cord injury with a fabric-based soft robotic glove.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationNine people with spinal cord injuries lifted objects more successfully while wearing a soft robotic glove operated by a researcher. The glove improved hand function scores and lift force, but participants could not put it on themselves.
• PTOTOther2018Information Management for the Assistive Technology Provision in Community: Perspectives of Local Policymakers and Health Service Providers.Occupational therapy internationalCommunity records for assistive devices had no database, and details were limited to name and gender. Most devices given to 289 people with disabilities were second-hand, borrowed, and low-tech mobility items.
• PTOTRCT2018Error-augmented bimanual therapy for stroke survivors.NeuroRehabilitationIn chronic stroke, error-augmented bimanual robot practice did not improve primary arm motor scores more than sham practice. Both groups gained, and after excluding one control participant, the error-augmented group showed a small follow-up gain.
• PTOTCohort2018Recovery of kinematic arm function in well-performing people with subacute stroke: a longitudinal cohort study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationArm movement quality did not improve over follow-up in high-functioning stroke patients. Elbow speed and trunk or shoulder compensation remained different from healthy controls.