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 8 OF 27 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTOther2020Quantitative clinical assessment of motor function during and following LSVT-BIG® therapy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWearable sensors showed that LSVT-BIG therapy improved walking speed, sit-to-stand times, and Timed-Up-and-Go scores in people with Parkinson's. These gains remained stable for 13 weeks after therapy ended. However, there was no improvement in balance or fine finger movements.
• PTOTOther2020The effects of a defecation posture, supported by the upper limbs, on respiratory function.Journal of physical therapy scienceArm-supported forward-leaning posture on a toilet seat produced larger breath volumes and higher comfort ratings than upright or unsupported forward-leaning postures in 73 healthy young adults.
• PTOTSystematic Review2020Systematic review with network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of robotic-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living and upper limb function after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationNo robotic arm training type improved daily living or arm function significantly more than others. Indirect comparisons found no clear evidence to support choosing one specific device over another for stroke recovery.
• PTOTRCT2020Effects of virtual reality associated with serious games for upper limb rehabilitation inpatients with multiple sclerosis: randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding Leap Motion virtual games to usual upper-limb therapy improved dexterity and coordination on the more affected side in MS, but not grip strength, fatigue, or quality of life compared with control.
• PTOTRCT2020Timing-dependent effects of transcranial direct current stimulation with mirror therapy on daily function and motor control in chronic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationApplying tDCS before mirror therapy improved daily activities more than doing them together or with sham. However, motor function improved similarly in all three groups, so the brain stimulation did not add benefit to physical movement recovery.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Number of trials necessary to achieve performance stability in a reaching kinematics movement analysis game.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsHealthy children and adults needed 6 practice trials to stabilize arm movement in a VR game. The study suggests therapists should collect multiple trials before assessing performance, as even simple reaching requires repetition to be reliable.
• PTOTOther2020Validity and reliability of an accelerometer-based assessgame to quantify upper limb selective voluntary motor control.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAn accelerometer game separated children with upper motor neuron lesions from healthy peers and agreed with therapist notes, but it is not yet reliable enough to track small changes after therapy.
• PTOTQualitative2020Fostering Holistic Hand Therapy: Emergent Themes of Client Experiences of Mind-Body Interventions.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthEight hand therapy clients described sonographic biofeedback as helping them understand their injury's physical cause and mindfulness as reducing stress to allow focus. Both approaches helped clients feel more in control and active in their recovery.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Robotic assessment of rapid motor decision making in children with perinatal stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChildren with hemiparetic cerebral palsy made more errors on a robotic task requiring rapid decisions to hit targets and avoid distractors. They hit fewer targets and more distractors than typically developing peers, showing impairments in both motor skills and inhibitory control.
• PTOTRCT2019Effects of Training for Finger Perception on Functional Recovery of Hemiplegic Upper Limbs in Acute Stroke Patients.Occupational therapy internationalAdding 20 minutes of finger perception training to standard stroke rehabilitation improved tactile sensitivity and the speed of manipulating small objects. Grip strength and large object handling did not improve. The benefit was seen in patients who already had higher levels of motor recovery.
• OTRCT2019Olfactory Stimulation with Japanese Soy Sauce Improves Upper Limb Performance.Occupational therapy internationalHealthy adults reached significantly farther in a seated balance test immediately after sniffing Japanese soy sauce. Sniffing water or a pleasant rose-like odor produced no change. The effect appears specific to the food-related scent, suggesting olfactory cues may temporarily modulate motor performance.
• PTOTRCT2020Feasibility and potential effects of using the electro-dress Mollii on spasticity and functioning in chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationUsing the Mollii suit at home for 6 weeks was feasible and reduced wrist spasticity measured by NeuroFlexor, but did not change spasticity assessed by the Modified Ashworth Scale. Fugl-Meyer sensorimotor scores improved, while walking speed, balance, and self-reported function remained unchanged.
• OTCase Series2020Sensitivity to temporal parameters of intraneural tactile sensory feedback.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTwo amputees with implanted nerve electrodes could tell apart timing differences in artificial touch. They recognized object shape similarly when stimulation was simulated and when they controlled a robotic hand. The work involved only two participants.
• PTOTRCT2020Neurocognitive robot-assisted rehabilitation of hand function: a randomized control trial on motor recovery in subacute stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationReplacing one daily hand therapy session with robot-assisted training achieved motor recovery equivalent to standard care. Both groups improved similarly. The robot did not prove superior, but it matched conventional therapy while remaining acceptable to patients.
• OTOther2020Exploring augmented grasping capabilities in a multi-synergistic soft bionic hand.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new soft bionic hand allowed amputees to switch grips without opening the hand first. They moved faster on precision tasks than with the previous model, but found it harder to lift heavy cans. This was a small pilot with just three users.
• PTOTCohort2020Pushing the Rehabilitation Boundaries: Hand Motor Impairment Can Be Reduced in Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIntensive multi-finger pressing training improved finger independence and hand function in 18 adults with chronic stroke, especially pinch, with gains still present at 6 months, though there was no control group.
• PTOTNarrative Review2020Virtual reality hand therapy: A new tool for nonopioid analgesia for acute procedural pain, hand rehabilitation, and VR embodiment therapy for phantom limb pain.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsIn burn wound care and hand therapy, immersive VR reduced pain while patients stretched as far as without VR. Evidence is strongest for short-term procedural pain, not for chronic phantom limb pain.
• OTCohort2020Eating and Grooming Abilities Predict Outcomes in Patients with Early Middle Cerebral Infarction: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Occupational therapy internationalEarly eating and grooming ability, along with hand recovery stage, helped predict whether people after middle cerebral artery stroke went home rather than to another facility. Clinicians can observe these simple bedside tasks soon after admission.
• PTOTSurvey2020Lifetime use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies among community-dwelling older people in Japan.Journal of physical therapy scienceNearly half of older Japanese men and nearly six in ten women have used at least one of three insurance-covered manual therapies. Judo therapy was the most common, used by 44.5% of women and 28.0% of men. These therapies are a standard part of care, not rare alternatives.
• PTOTCohort2020Characteristics Associated with the Differential Activity of Nondominant and Dominant Affected Hands in Patients with Poststroke Right Hemiparesis.Occupational therapy internationalStroke survivors whose dominant hand was affected used their non-affected hand significantly more than their paretic hand, creating strong asymmetry. However, standard clinical scores for motor function and self-reported use did not correlate with this real-world activity imbalance measured by wearable sensors.
• OTOther2020Looking into the Content of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM): A Danish Cross-Sectional Study.Occupational therapy internationalDanish clients prioritized many issues that were basic tasks or actions rather than full occupations. This blurs the line between what the client wants to do and the underlying skills needed, risking that the assessment measures performance components instead of the intended construct of occupational engagement.
• OTOther2020Design of an ergonomic gestural interface for professional road cycling.Work (Reading, Mass.)This paper is a design study for a cycling interface, not clinical research. It reports on how seven cyclists prefer to use micro-gestures on handlebars in a lab setting. There are no patient outcomes or therapeutic findings here to inform clinical practice.
• PTOTOther2020Comparing Home Upper Extremity Activity with Clinical Evaluations of Arm Function in Chronic Stroke.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationHome accelerometer data correlated with clinical arm impairment scores, but not consistently with self-reported use. Some patients with good clinical scores used their affected arm very little at home. Clinical tests alone may miss habitual non-use.
• PTOTCohort2020Relationship between upper limb motor function and activities of daily living after removing the influence of lower limb motor function in subacute patients with stroke: A cross-sectional study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTUpper limb motor function correlates with total ADL independence, but this link weakens significantly once lower limb function is accounted for. Only specific self-care tasks and stair climbing remain associated with upper limb strength after removing lower limb influence.
• OTPilot2020Effects of peripheral nerve stimulation on paralysed upper limb functional recovery in chronic stroke patients undergoing low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and occupational therapy: A pilot study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTAdding peripheral nerve stimulation to occupational therapy improved hand motor scores, but the primary measure of functional object manipulation showed no difference between groups. The benefit was seen only in a secondary hand-specific test.
• PTOTCohort2020Disability and Pain are the Best Predictors of Sick Leave After a Distal Radius Fracture in Men.Journal of occupational rehabilitationMen with distal radius fracture who reported more disability and pain one week after injury were more likely to have longer sick leave. Early symptoms tracked work loss more closely than fracture severity or treatment.
• PTOTCohort2020Individualized OnabotulinumtoxinA Treatment for Upper Limb Spasticity Resulted in High Clinician- and Patient-Reported Satisfaction: Long-Term Observational Results from the ASPIRE Study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost clinicians and patients were satisfied with onabotulinumtoxinA for adult upper limb spasticity, and reported difficulty with dressing, hygiene, posture and pain improved. Treatment varied widely, so this describes real-world use, not proof of benefit.
• OTCase Report2021Testing of a 3D printed hand exoskeleton for an individual with stroke: a case study.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyA 3D-printed passive exoskeleton helped one stroke survivor extend his hand and grasp blocks with a normal pinch, rather than wedging them between fingers. The device scored well for usability, but this single case cannot prove it works for other patients.
• PTOTCase-Control2020Measurements of Hand Function in Degenerative Cerebellar Disease: A Case-Control Pilot Study.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationThe 9-Hole Peg Test performed with the dominant hand best tracked hand function in adults with degenerative cerebellar disease, correlating with ataxia severity across all clinical tests. Simple reaching kinematics separated patients from healthy controls but failed to track disease severity.
• PTOTOther2020A Reaching Performance Scale for 2 Wolf Motor Function Test Items.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationThe modified scale shows only weak-to-moderate agreement between raters, so it is not yet reliable for clinical use. It did correlate with other stroke measures, suggesting it may help distinguish movement quality in the future.
• PTOTCohort2021Chronic Poststroke Deficits in Gross and Fine Motor Control of the Ipsilesional Upper Limb.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationPeople with chronic stroke showed reduced fine and gross motor dexterity in their ipsilesional (same-side) arm. Standard clinical tests like the Nine-Hole Peg Test and Box and Blocks Test can detect these deficits, which often go unnoticed when therapy focuses solely on the contralesional arm.
• PTOTCohort2020Rudimentary Dexterity Corresponds With Reduced Ability to Move in Synergy After Stroke: Evidence of Competition Between Corticoreticulospinal and Corticospinal Tracts?Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn people with moderate arm impairment after stroke, the ability to move the arm out of synergy and the ability to move within synergy trade off against each other. This suggests a competition between brain pathways, where recovering fine control may temporarily reduce gross synergy movement.
• PTOTOther2020Quantitative description of upper extremity function and activity of people with spinal muscular atrophy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn people with spinal muscular atrophy, arm strength and muscle activity were already reduced when daily tasks still looked near normal. People unable to lift their arms overhead had lower upper limb function, and active shoulder movement was closely related to daily performance.
• PTOTRCT2021Evaluation of the enhanced upper limb therapy programme within the Robot-Assisted Training for the Upper Limb after Stroke trial: descriptive analysis of intervention fidelity, goal selection and goal achievement.Clinical rehabilitationStroke survivors chose eating, dressing and range-of-motion goals most often. Overall, only 51% of goals were achieved. Those under three months post-stroke achieved 73-88%, but those with severe arm limitation over a year post-stroke achieved just 27%, especially for self-care tasks.
• OTOther2020Sensing form - finger gaiting as key to tactile object exploration - a data glove analysis of a prototypical daily task.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHealthy adults rotating a small cuboid at 1 Hz moved thumb and fingers through three coordinated joint groups within each 1-second act. The pattern is a normal reference for hand tactile exploration, not tested stroke treatment.
• PTOTCase Series2020Acceptability of a Mobile Phone-Based Augmented Reality Game for Rehabilitation of Patients With Upper Limb Deficits from Stroke: Case Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesFive stroke patients rated a smartphone augmented reality game as acceptable, finding it comfortable and motivating despite difficulty with the hand controllers. This small study confirms users would try it again but does not prove it improves physical recovery.
• PTOTRCT2020Virtual reality-based treatment for regaining upper extremity function induces cortex grey matter changes in persons with acquired brain injury.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVirtual reality arm exercises showed promise for improving strength and movement in chronic brain injury patients, with associated brain volume changes. However, the study was small and non-randomized, so these benefits are not yet proven compared to standard therapy.
• PTOTRCT2021Can the early use of botulinum toxin in post stroke spasticity reduce contracture development? A randomised controlled trial.Clinical rehabilitationEarly botulinum toxin injections reduced spasticity and slowed elbow contracture formation in stroke patients. All participants also received electrical stimulation. While the treatment did not improve arm function scores, it significantly reduced the need for splints at three and six months post-stroke.
• PTOTRCT2020Gains Across WHO Dimensions of Function After Robot-Based Therapy in Stroke Subjects.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairRobot-assisted therapy improved arm movement and daily task performance in 40 stroke survivors, but did not change their perceived quality of life or participation. Gains in physical function correlated with activity scores, but neither predicted improvements in participation.
• PTOTRCT2020Kinematic parameters obtained with the ArmeoSpring for upper-limb assessment after stroke: a reliability and learning effect study for guiding parameter use.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeak velocity and game score are reliable and stable for assessing upper-limb impairment. Time-based measures improve with practice, so the first session and early trials must be excluded to avoid mistaking learning for recovery.
• PTOTCohort2020Technology-aided assessment of functionally relevant sensorimotor impairments in arm and hand of post-stroke individuals.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn chronic stroke survivors with mild to moderate deficits, a virtual peg task captured grip force and movement patterns. Three metrics were reliable enough for tracking recovery over time, and performance correlated with standard hand dexterity tests.
• PTOTRCT2021Sustained efficacy of incobotulinumtoxina repeated injections for upper-limb post-stroke spasticity: A post hoc analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineRepeated incobotulinumtoxinA injections for upper-limb post-stroke spasticity reduced muscle tone and caregiver burden more than placebo. Benefits in tone and disability increased with each injection cycle up to 48 weeks, suggesting a cumulative effect rather than a single-shot fix.
• PTOTRCT2020Relationships between accelerometry and general compensatory movements of the upper limb after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAccelerometer data from daily life, but not clinic visits, reflects movement quality. People who compensated more during tasks used their non-paretic arm more and showed less variability at home. Clinic training masks these patterns, so daily wearables capture compensations that in-clinic tests miss.
• PTOTRCT2020Immersive Virtual Environments and Wearable Haptic Devices in rehabilitation of children with neuromotor impairments: a single-blind randomized controlled crossover pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn children with cerebral palsy or developmental dyspraxia, immersive virtual reality with haptic feedback did not show better hand-function test results than conventional therapy. Some movement smoothness measures favoured virtual reality, but the trial was very small.
• PTOTOther2020Improving Accelerometry-Based Measurement of Functional Use of the Upper Extremity After Stroke: Machine Learning Versus Counts Threshold Method.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairMachine learning models accurately measured functional arm use in stroke survivors, closely matching video evidence. The standard counts threshold method failed, grossly overestimating functional use by including nonfunctional movements like arm swing. This suggests current accelerometry metrics may be misleading for assessing real-world recovery.
• PTOTOther2020Multiple processes independently predict motor learning.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn healthy young adults, improvements in hitting targets were independently predicted by faster hand movements, more efficient visual search, and looser eye-hand coupling. Avoiding distractors was predicted only by looser eye-hand coupling. This shows motor learning involves multiple distinct processes.
• PTOTRCT2020Effects of virtual reality training on occupational performance and self-efficacy of patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding 3 weeks of virtual reality training to standard care improved self-efficacy and daily living activities in stroke survivors, but did not improve occupational performance or upper limb function more than standard care alone.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2020The Prevalence of Self-injurious Behaviour in Autism: A Meta-analytic Study.Journal of autism and developmental disordersSelf-injury affects 42% of autistic people. It is not more common in those with intellectual disability, contrary to assumption. Female gender is linked to higher prevalence. Hand hitting, skin picking and hitting objects are the most common forms.
• OTCohort2020Early Motor Differences in Infants at Elevated Likelihood of Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAt 10 months, infants with a family history of autism or ADHD crossed the body midline less often during block play than typical infants. The difference was not seen at 5 or 14 months, and it was not accompanied by differences in motor scores.
• PTOTRCT2020Commercial head-mounted display virtual reality for upper extremity rehabilitation in chronic stroke: a single-case design study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSeven people with chronic stroke played commercial VR games for ten weeks. Most showed improved arm function on clinical tests. The games required no button pressing, allowing those with severe weakness to participate using straps. This is a small pilot, not proof of efficacy.