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 7 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTOther2019Improving bimanual interaction with a prosthesis using semi-autonomous control.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn eight able-bodied people using a prosthetic hand, a semi-autonomous system that detected hand movements made two-handed object tasks faster, more intuitive, and less effortful than standard myoelectric control.
• OTOther2019Effect of vibration characteristics and vibror arrangement on the tactile perception of the upper arm in healthy subjects and upper limb amputees.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA circular proportional band of six vibration motors on the upper arm gave better location discrimination than linear bands in 11 healthy people. Longer, stronger pulses made motors easier to feel and locate. Patients also located motors, but this was lab testing, not prosthesis use.
• PTOTPilot2019Wrist-Based Accelerometers and Visual Analog Scales as Outcome Measures for Shoulder Activity During Daily Living in Patients With Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: Instrument Validation Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesWrist accelerometers were acceptable to patients but failed to correlate with standard shoulder questionnaires or clinical exams. Daily pain scores and a single numeric evaluation were reliable and sensitive to change, while activity ratings showed poor convergence with objective movement data.
• OTCase Report2019Stable, three degree-of-freedom myoelectric prosthetic control via chronic bipolar intramuscular electrodes: a case study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn one man with a forearm amputation, an implanted-electrode controller moved three virtual hand movements reliably over 12 weeks and across arm positions. Performance was slightly less efficient than his intact hand. Not evidence for a real prosthetic hand in daily tasks.
• PTOTCohort2019Movement kinematics and proprioception in post-stroke spasticity: assessment using the Kinarm robotic exoskeleton.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke patients with spasticity showed slower and less smooth reaching than those without, but proprioception deficits were similar between groups. Both groups struggled with position matching compared to healthy norms. Assess timing and speed separately from sensory function.
• PTOTCohort2019Belief, Confidence, and Motivation to Use the Paretic Upper Limb in Daily Life Over the First 24 Weeks After Stroke.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTStroke survivors remained highly confident and motivated to use their weak arm over the first six months, regardless of physical recovery or mood. This suggests therapists can assume patients are ready to engage and should focus on removing practical barriers rather than boosting morale.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2019Disruption of PHF21A causes syndromic intellectual disability with craniofacial anomalies, epilepsy, hypotonia, and neurobehavioral problems including autism.Molecular autismSeven patients with PHF21A gene variants all had intellectual disability and language delay. Four also had epilepsy, three had autism, and three had obesity. This links the gene to a syndrome involving craniofacial anomalies, hypotonia, and neurobehavioral problems.
• PTOTCohort2019Instrumental activities of daily living and number of daily steps in frail older females.Journal of physical therapy scienceFrail older women who could prepare meals and do housework took significantly more daily steps than those who needed help. Overall step counts were very low, averaging under 2,000 steps per day.
• OTRCT2019Development of 3D-printed myoelectric hand orthosis for patients with spinal cord injury.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 10 people with chronic cervical spinal cord injury, wearing a 3D-printed hand orthosis controlled by muscle signals improved hand function test scores for many objects. Small or flat objects showed little change.
• PTOTRCT2020Reliability, validity and discriminant ability of a robotic device for finger training in patients with subacute stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThe robotic device reliably measures finger strength and muscle tone in stroke patients, with changes greater than 10.6 N in flexion or 3.4 N in extension likely reflecting true improvement. It does not reliably measure spasticity, so do not use its spasticity scores to guide treatment.
• PTOTRCT2020Hebbian-Type Primary Motor Cortex Stimulation: A Potential Treatment of Impaired Hand Function in Chronic Stroke Patients.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairNo significant difference between Hebbian-type and sham stimulation on the primary hand function measure. Both groups improved after training, and only the Hebbian-type group remained significantly better than baseline at four weeks.
• OTRCT2020Anatomical and Functional Characterization in Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: An Atlas-Based Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn children with unilateral cerebral palsy, whole-brain anatomical patterns tracked hand function more closely than lesion type alone. Children with periventricular lesions had better hand function than children with middle cerebral artery lesions.
• PTOTPilot2019Minimal clinically important difference for the Fugl-Meyer assessment of the upper extremity in convalescent stroke patients with moderate to severe hemiparesis.Journal of physical therapy scienceFor convalescent stroke patients with moderate to severe arm weakness, a 12.4-point improvement on the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity score marked the threshold where patients felt their arm function had meaningfully improved in daily life.
• PTOTCohort2020Using accelerometry for measurement of motor behavior in children: Relationship of real-world movement to standardized evaluation.Research in developmental disabilitiesWrist accelerometers can objectively measure how much children with hemiparesis use their affected arm in daily life. The movement data correlated moderately with clinical test scores, suggesting this affordable tool can help screen for asymmetry and guide therapy intensity.
• OTRCT2020Visual processing speed in hemianopia patients secondary to acquired brain injury: a new assessment methodology.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with visual field loss after brain injury were 73.0% slower at finding and touching everyday objects than matched healthy people. A timed search-and-reach task may help therapists see how field loss affects daily visual tasks.
• PTOTCase-Control2020Assessment of bilateral motor skills and visuospatial attention in children with perinatal stroke using a robotic object hitting task.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with perinatal stroke hit fewer balls than peers with both hands, especially after arterial ischemic stroke. The unaffected hand also showed fewer hits, and attention test scores related to performance.
• OTCase Report2020Affordable passive 3D-printed prosthesis for persons with partial hand amputation.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalA custom passive 3D-printed partial hand prosthesis let one patient perform 12 of 14 grasp tests and hold 700 g, but it needed the other hand to set each grasp and was tested in only one patient.
• OTCohort2020Hand Extension Robot Orthosis (HERO) Grip Glove: enabling independence amongst persons with severe hand impairments after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn one session, the HERO Grip Glove helped 11 stroke survivors with severe hand impairment extend fingers, grasp blocks, bottles, forks, and pens, but participants were only moderately satisfied and often needed arm or hand support.
• PTOTNarrative Review2019Post-stroke motor recovery and cortical organization following Constraint-Induced Movement Therapies: a literature review.Journal of physical therapy scienceConstraint-induced movement therapy improves arm use in chronic stroke patients, but brain changes are inconsistent across studies. Modified versions are feasible and effective, yet lack long-term follow-up data to prove sustained gains.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2020Learning of skilled movements via imitation in ASD.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with autism imitated novel gestures less accurately than peers. Their learning curves were flatter early on, catching up by the fourth repetition. This specific pattern of slow initial learning predicted worse motor planning skills and higher autism symptom severity.
• PTOTOther2020Survivors of Chronic Stroke Experience Continued Impairment of Dexterity But Not Strength in the Nonparetic Upper Limb.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationIn chronic stroke survivors with severe paretic hand impairment, the nonparetic hand showed impaired dexterity but not grip strength, despite long reliance on that limb.
• OTCohort2020Position-Cortical Coherence as a Marker of Afferent Pathway Integrity Early Poststroke: A Prospective Cohort Study.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairA brain-wave marker of wrist position input changed over early stroke recovery but did not clearly separate patients who did not recover from those who did. It may help research, not therapy.
• PTOTRCT2020Home-based rehabilitation using a soft robotic hand glove device leads to improvement in hand function in people with chronic spinal cord injury:a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with chronic spinal cord injury who wore a soft robotic glove at home for 12 weeks improved their hand function and grip strength. These gains remained six weeks after they stopped using the device. The study had no control group.
• PTOTRCT2020Adding Contralaterally Controlled Electrical Stimulation of the Triceps to Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation of the Finger Extensors Reduces Upper Limb Impairment and Improves Reachable Workspace but not Dexterity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAdding triceps stimulation to hand-focused electrical therapy improved arm reach and reduced impairment, but did not improve hand dexterity or perceived daily use compared to hand therapy alone. The added component helps reach, not fine motor control.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2020Instrumented assessment of motor function in dyskinetic cerebral palsy: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA systematic review of 49 studies found that while sensors and motion capture can measure movement in dyskinetic cerebral palsy, most methods require the child to understand instructions and move voluntarily. This excludes the 70-80% who are non-ambulatory and severely impaired, leaving no validated tools for them.
• OTCase-Control2019Ultrasound measurements of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in ambulant chronic stroke patients: comparison between paretic and non-paretic sides.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn chronic stroke, the median nerve was widest on the non-paretic side, especially in longer-standing cases, and slid less on the paretic side. Four long-term patients had very wide nerves and suspected carpal tunnel signs.
• PTOTOther2020Spinal kyphotic alignment changes spinal movement strategy during lateral reaching motion while in a sitting position.Journal of physical therapy scienceFlexed sitting changed how young men moved their spine during seated rightward reaching. Some thoracic side tilt and rotation were less, and lumbar rotation patterns shifted. Posture may alter trunk movement strategy.
• PTOTCohort2020Evaluating hand performance and strength in children with high rates of smartphone usage: an observational study.Journal of physical therapy scienceChildren with high smartphone addiction scores had much weaker grip and pinch strength in their dominant hand than those with low scores. Their dominant-hand grip averaged 19.6 kg versus 58.9 kg in the low-use group. Hand function scores were also worse in the high-use group.
• PTOTCase Report2020Design of a lightweight passive orthosis for tremor suppression.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA lightweight, inflatable wrist glove reduced tremor power by 74-82% during drinking, pouring, and drawing in one patient with Parkinson's disease. The device allows users to adjust stiffness manually, offering a potential alternative to medication for specific daily tasks.
• PTOTCohort2020β-Oscillations Reflect Recovery of the Paretic Upper Limb in Subacute Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn subacute stroke, beta activity in the lesion-side motor cortex was low early and rose with recovery. Early post-movement beta activity related to 3-month arm scores, but not independently after baseline scores.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Role of data measurement characteristics in the accurate detection of Parkinson's disease symptoms using wearable sensors.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWearable sensors can detect Parkinson's tremor and slowness using simpler data. A 30 Hz sampling rate and basic features captured symptoms as well as high-resolution settings, allowing devices to run longer without losing accuracy.
• PTOTOther2020Validity and reliability of isometric knee extension muscle strength measurements using a belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometer: a comparison with the measurement using an isokinetic dynamometer in a sitting posture.Journal of physical therapy scienceBelt-stabilized handheld dynamometry matched the gold standard isokinetic dynamometer in healthy young men, with no significant difference between devices. In women, handheld scores did not correlate with the reference device. Use handheld strength data cautiously for female patients until further research clarifies the discrepancy.
• PTOTRCT2020The use of a task through virtual reality in cerebral palsy using two different interaction devices (concrete and abstract) - a cross-sectional randomized study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with cerebral palsy performed better on a virtual task using a motion sensor than a touchscreen, but could not transfer this skill to the touchscreen. The motion sensor allowed gross arm movements, bypassing the fine motor control that the touchscreen demands.
• PTOTRCT2020Composite active range of motion (CXA) and relationship with active function in upper and lower limb spastic paresis.Clinical rehabilitationComposite active range of motion tracked active function after botulinum toxin for spastic paresis only weakly to moderately. Range peaked at week 4, function at week 12. It may help measure movement, but it is not a simple stand-in for functional change.
• PTOTCase Report2020Robotic rehabilitation of the paralyzed upper limb for a stroke patient using the single-joint hybrid assistive limb: a case study assessed by accelerometer on the wrist.Journal of physical therapy scienceFor a stroke patient, accelerometer counts for the paralyzed left arm were higher after the HAL-SJ phase than before it, while standard arm tests showed no clinically important change. Usual PT, OT, and ST continued throughout, so HAL-SJ alone cannot be credited.
• OTCase-Control2020Brain activation patterns underlying upper limb bilateral motor coordination in unilateral cerebral palsy: an fNIRS study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyDuring asymmetric squeezing, people with unilateral cerebral palsy showed broader, stronger brain activity and more synchronized wrist muscle activity. More activity toward the non-lesioned side related to better daily function. No treatment was tested.
• PTOTOther2020Transient changes in paretic and non-paretic isometric force control during bimanual submaximal and maximal contractions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDuring maximal bimanual wrist and finger extension, the paretic arm produced greater sustained force than unimanual. During submaximal tasks, bimanual conditions made force output less steady and more repetitive in both arms, with more change in the non-paretic arm.
• PTOTPilot2020Unsupervised low-intensity home exercises as an effective intervention for improving physical activity and physical capacity in the community-dwelling elderly.Journal of physical therapy scienceUnsupervised home exercises increased moderate-intensity activity in older women. Resistance band work also improved lung capacity. Both groups exceeded WHO weekly activity guidelines after six months, suggesting low-intensity home routines are feasible and effective for maintaining activity levels.
• OTCohort2020Introduction of the Purdue Pegboard Test for fine assessment of severity of cervical myelopathy before and after surgery.Journal of physical therapy scienceThe STEF predicted chopstick use better than the Purdue Pegboard Test in cervical myelopathy. The PPT assembly task still correlated with clinician-rated severity, so it may add bilateral hand information.
• OTRCT2020Selective neural electrical stimulation restores hand and forearm movements in individuals with complete tetraplegia.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOne cuff electrode around the median or radial nerve produced hand and forearm movements during surgery. Median stimulation created finger, thumb and wrist flexion, sometimes grip patterns. This was proof of concept, not tested for daily use.
• PTOTRCT2020A Novel Wearable Device for Motor Recovery of Hand Function in Chronic Stroke Survivors.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairHome use of a device pairing electrical shocks with loud clicks improved hand grasp in chronic stroke survivors. The average gain was small, but responders showed clinically meaningful improvement. Other hand functions and strength did not change.
• PTOTCohort2020Time Course of Wrist Hyper-Resistance in Relation to Upper Limb Motor Recovery Early Post Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPassive wrist resistance became higher in patients who could not extend their fingers early after stroke, while it stayed mostly stable in those who could.
• PTOTRCT2020Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation with virtual reality on upper limb function in patients with ischemic stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding real cathodal tDCS to VR and conventional occupational and physical therapy improved upper limb impairment after ischemic stroke more than sham tDCS with the same VR and conventional occupational and physical therapy in this small trial.
• PTOTOther2020Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation improves severe upper limb paresis in early acute phase stroke survivors.NeuroRehabilitationIn 19 adults with severe arm weakness after stroke, final FMA scores did not differ significantly between groups. The rPMS group had higher FMA score gain relative to treatment duration (2.65 versus 1.10).
• PTOTCohort2020Sleep Disruption After Brain Injury Is Associated With Worse Motor Outcomes and Slower Functional Recovery.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairInpatients with more fragmented sleep showed slower recovery of functional independence and worse motor outcomes. Sleep quality did not improve during rehabilitation. Screening for sleep disruption may identify patients at risk of poorer recovery, though causality is not proven.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2020Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with physical or cognitive training in people with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding tDCS to physical or cognitive therapy showed inconsistent benefits. Cognition and upper limb function improved in some trials, but gait and motor symptoms showed no clear advantage over sham stimulation. Small study sizes and varied protocols limit confidence in these findings.
• PTOTCohort2020Upper limb kinematics during the first year after stroke: the stroke arm longitudinal study at the University of Gothenburg (SALGOT).Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAfter stroke, movement time and hand speed approached healthy performance by 3 months, but elbow speed, arm lifting away from the body and trunk lean stayed impaired through 12 months.
• PTOTRCT2020Neurophysiological signatures of hand motor response to dual-transcranial direct current stimulation in subacute stroke: a TMS and MEG study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDual tDCS shifted brain activity in subacute stroke patients: it increased excitability in the damaged-side motor cortex and decreased it in the healthy-side cortex. These neurophysiological changes mirrored those in healthy controls and correlated with the patients' existing hand function.
• OTOther2020Age- and gender-stratified adult myometric reference values of isometric intrinsic hand strength.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsAdults aged 21 and older showed different intrinsic hand strength by age, gender and body mass index. Strength usually peaked in the 30s and 40s, then declined. These values can help compare a patient's hand strength to similar peers.
• PTOTSystematic Review2020Dart thrower's motion and the injured scapholunate interosseous ligament: A scoping review of studies examining motion, orthoses, and rehabilitation.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsIn a torn scapholunate ligament, dart thrower motion may separate the scaphoid and lunate at end range, especially ulnar flexion. Midrange motion may be safer, but cadaver and imaging studies did not test repaired ligaments, and orthosis designs are unproven.