Effects of tactile stimulation on the sensory, motor and cognitive function in people with multiple sclerosis

Mechanical digit sensory stimulation: a randomized control trial on neurological and motor recovery in acute stroke

“…MDSS can achieve a good effect because the nerve endings and somatosensory receptors in fingers/toes are remarkably rich and sensitive. Appropriate mechanical stimulation of the fingers/toes on the hemiplegic side of patients with AIS can induce stronger excitement of the cerebral cortex and result in more limb movements, this can lead to a greater increase neuroplasticity and more significantly improvements in cognitive and motor functions compared to stimulation of other body part ( Dobkin, 2003 ; Kattenstroth et al, 2018 ; Ayoobi et al, 2021 ). Conventional rehabilitation often requires expensive equipment (e.g., neuromuscular electrical stimulation), which costs a few hundred to tens of thousands of Chinese Yuan and takes 20–30 min per session.…”

“…Kattenstroth et al pointed out that compared with any other part of the body, fingertips and toetips are more sensitive sites with a higher density of nerve endings and somatosensory receptors, and these sites are the most innervated, and stimulation of these two sites can induce the excitement of specific targeted somatosensory cortical areas ( Kattenstroth et al, 2018 ). Appropriate sensory stimulation of the fingers/toes in some patients with central nervous system injury can induce more cerebral cortical excitation and limb movements ( Dobkin, 2003 ; Kattenstroth et al, 2018 ; Ayoobi et al, 2021 ). Therefore, the sites of sensory stimulation were concentrated on the hemiplegic finger/toenail beds to achieve good results in this study.…”

“…Somatosensory stimulation of the brain of some patients with central nervous system injury through their fingers may affect the metabolism and functional recovery of the brain ( Dobkin, 2003 ; Ayoobi et al, 2021 ). Previous studies have revealed that ischemic stroke temporarily but significantly increased IL-17A, TNF-α, and VEGF-A levels ( Arango-Dávila et al, 2015 ; Liu et al, 2019 ; Moon et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2022 ).…”