Article

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of an electromechanical device, comprising an
exoskeleton, a static orthosis, and a glove, for functional rehabilitation of the
elbow and hand in patients with hemiparesis, and to compare it with physical
therapy rehabilitation.
DESIGN: Pretest-posttest design. Rehabilitation laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer sample of persons (N=12) with persistent
hemiparesis from a single, unilateral stroke within the past 3 to 36 months.
The volunteers were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group was
treated with a conventional program of physiotherapy, and another group
participated in a training program in which an electromechanical orthosis was
used. All volunteers received 24 sessions, held 3 times a week for 8 weeks. MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), and
electromyogram (EMG) amplitude. RESULTS: No statistical difference was found in
the initial and final values of the MAS. Both groups showed a significant
increase for the total scores of the FMA. However, only the group treated with
the orthosis showed an increase in FMA scores related to the wrist and hand
joint. The EMG analysis showed increased EMG amplitudes for all muscles in the
group treated with the orthosis, whereas the group treated with physiotherapy
showed gains in electromyographic activity only in the extensor digitorum
communis. Intergroup comparison showed that the initial FMA scores of the
wrist/hand were higher in the group treated with physiotherapy. However, after
training, the scores in the group that used the orthosis were equivalent to those
of the physiotherapy group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that this device can
be an auxiliary tool to help the conventional rehabilitation program of motor
function of the affected upper extremity.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS