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Review
. 2022;51(4):559-576.
doi: 10.3233/NRE-220027.

Effectiveness of robot-assisted arm therapy in stroke rehabilitation: An overview of systematic reviews

Sofia Straudi  1 , Ludovica Baluardo  1 , Chiara Arienti  2 , Michela Bozzolan  3 , Stefano G Lazzarini  2 , Michela Agostini  4 , Irene Aprile  5 , Matteo Paci  6 , Emanuela Casanova  7 , Dario Marino  8 , Giuseppe La Rosa  9 , Federica Bressi  10 , Silvia Sterzi  10 , Daniele Giansanti  11 , Luca Perrero  12 , Alberto Battistini  7 , Sandra Miccinilli  10 , Serena Filoni  13 , Monica Sicari  14 , Salvatore Petrozzino  14 , Claudio Marcello Solaro  15 , Stefano Gargano  16 , Paolo Benanti  17 , Paolo Boldrini  18 , Donatella Bonaiuti  19 , Enrico Castelli  20 , Francesco Draicchio  21 , Vincenzo Falabella  22 , Silvia Galeri  2 , Francesca Gimigliano  23 , Mauro Grigioni  11 , Stefano Mazzoleni  24 , Stefano Mazzon  25 , Franco Molteni  26 , Maurizio Petrarca  27 , Alessandro Picelli  28 , Federico Posteraro  29 , Michele Senatore  30 , Giuseppe Turchetti  31 , Giovanni Morone  32 ; Working group upper limb “CICERONE” Italian Consensus Conference on Robotic in Neurorehabilitation
Affiliations
Review

Effectiveness of robot-assisted arm therapy in stroke rehabilitation: An overview of systematic reviews

Sofia Straudi et al. NeuroRehabilitation. 2022.

Abstract

Background: Robot-assisted arm therapy (RAT) has been used mainly in stroke rehabilitation in the last 20 years with rising expectations and growing evidence summarized in systematic reviews (SRs).

Objective: The aim of this study is to provide an overview of SRs about the effectiveness, within the ICF domains, and safety of RAT in the rehabilitation of adult with stroke compared to other treatments.

Methods: The search strategy was conducted using search strings adapted explicitly for each database. A screening base on title and abstract was realized to find all the potentially relevant studies. The methodological quality of the included SRs was assessed using AMSTAR-2. A pre-determined standardized form was used to realize the data extraction.

Results: 18 SRs were included in this overview. Generally, positive effects from the RAT were found for motor function and muscle strength, whereas there is no agreement for muscle tone effects. No effect was found for pain, and only a SR reported the positive impact of RAT in daily living activity.

Conclusion: RAT can be considered a valuable option to increase motor function and muscle strength after stroke. However, the poor quality of most of the included SRs could limit the certainty around the results.

Keywords: Stroke; arm rehabilitation; end-effector devices; exoskeleton devices; robot-assisted arm therapy.

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