Effect of Upper Robot-Assisted Training on Upper Limb Motor, Daily Life Activities, and Muscular Tone in Patients With Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Upper limb rehabilitation robot is a relatively new technology, but its effectiveness remains debatable due to the inconsistent results of clinical trials. This article intends to assess how upper limb rehabilitation robots help the functional recovery of stroke patients.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for eligible studies to explore the effect of upper limb rehabilitation robots on upper limb motor function, muscle tone, and daily living activities.

Results

Eighteen trials with 573 stroke patients met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that compared to conventional rehabilitation training, patients who received upper limb robotic therapy (RT) had significantly improved Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Motor Assessment (FMA-UE) scores (weighted mean differences [WMD]: 5.27, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 3.36, 7.17), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) scores (WMD: 4.07, 95% CI: −4.14, 12.28), Modified Barthel Index (MBI) scores (WMD: 9.55, 95% CI: 6.37, 12.73), and modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) scores (WMD: −0.28, 95% CI: −0.50, 0.06), with no significant heterogeneity.

Conclusions

Upper limb robot–assisted training is superior to conventional training in terms of improving upper limb motor impairment, ability to perform daily living activities, and muscle tone recovery, which supports the application of robots in clinical practice.