Self-administered, home-based, upper limb practice in stroke patients: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Neurorehabilitation
• Stroke recovery
• Physical therapy

Background:

• Upper limb dysfunction is common after stroke, impacting daily activities.
• Home-based rehabilitation aims to improve functional recovery and independence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of self-administered, home-based upper limb practice post-stroke.
• To compare structured versus non-structured home-based practice interventions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
• Included 15 studies with 788 participants evaluating upper limb activity.
• Assessed study quality using the PEDro scale.

Main Results:

• No significant improvement in upper limb activity was found with self-administered home-based practice compared to no intervention.
• No difference in upper limb activity outcomes between structured and non-structured home-based practice.

Conclusions:

• Current self-administered home-based practice does not enhance upper limb activity more than no intervention in chronic stroke survivors.
• The structure of home-based practice does not influence its effectiveness on upper limb activity.