Does robot-assisted gait training improve mobility, activities of daily living and quality of life in stroke? A single-blinded, randomized controlled trial

Hybrid Robot-Assisted Gait Training for Motor Function in Subacute Stroke: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

“…According to previous studies evaluating the effect of RAGT as an add-on to conventional physiotherapy, patients with (subacute or chronic) stroke exhibited improved ambulation function, lower-extremity motor function, balance, and gait performance both immediately postintervention and at follow-up, and these improvements were superior to those conventional physiotherapy [14,16,17,19,21,22,24,25,33]. By contrast, some studies have shown that training effects in locomotion function, activities of daily living, and gait were not superior to those of conventional stroke training in patients with subacute stroke [15,18,20,23]. Our RCT focused on the effectiveness of the novel hybrid RAGT system, which provides high repetitions and intensity (step length and gait velocity), in improving motor function, balance, and gait performance in patients with stroke both immediately after the 15-session intervention and at the 3month follow-up.…”

“…G*Power (version 3.1.9.2, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany) was used to calculate the required sample size. According to a similar study [23], to satisfy an α level of 0.05 and a power of 0.95, a minimum of 20 participants were required in each group. The participants who achieved a change in a score of 6 on FMA-LE would perceive a meaningful recovery of lower-extremity function [32].…”

“…Recently, several studies have evaluated the effects of RAGT in patients with stroke [20][21][22][23][24][25]. A Cochrane review proposed that RAGT combined with physiotherapy increased gait velocity and odds of participants being able to walk independently [21].…”

“…A Cochrane review proposed that RAGT combined with physiotherapy increased gait velocity and odds of participants being able to walk independently [21]. However, some studies have reported that the improvement was not superior to that of conventional treatment, even when delivered as an add-on to routine rehabilitation in the subacute phase of stroke [20,23], whereas others have demonstrated bene cial effects compared with physiotherapy alone on clinical functional outcomes and gait pattern [22,24,25]. Our group previously demonstrated changes in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke (PASS), BBS, and Barthel Index (BI) scores after an RAGT intervention, indicating substantial improvements in neurological status, balance, and the activities of daily living [26].…”

Impacts of a lower limb exoskeleton robot on anxious stroke patients

“…Basic rehabilitation is designed to help patients improve mobility and endurance in all joints before going down so that better rehabilitation results can be achieved when practicing walking. In the experiment conducted by Rustem mustafaoglu et al [22], the patients were randomly divided into three groups. They received routine rehabilitation training and robot assisted training (RAGT), conventional rehabilitation training and robot assisted training respectively.…”