Effectiveness of home-based upper limb rehabilitation in stroke survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Home-based training is an alternative option to provide intensive rehabilitation without costly supervised therapy. Though several studies support the effectiveness of home-based rehabilitation in improving hemiparetic upper limb function in stroke survivors, a collective evaluation of the evidence remains scarce.

This study aims to determine the effects of home-based upper limb rehabilitation for hemiparetic upper limb recovery in stroke survivors.

The databases of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched from January 2000 to September 2020. Only randomized, controlled, and cross-over trials that evaluated the effects of home-based upper limb interventions were selected. The Pedro scale was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. A meta-analysis of the upper limb function outcomes was performed by calculating the mean difference/standardized mean difference using a fixed/random effect model.

An initial search yielded 1,049 articles. Twenty-six articles were included in the review. The pooled evidence of the meta-analysis showed that home-based upper limb intervention was more effective in improving upper limb function [SMD: 0.28, 95% CI (0.12, 0.44), I ² = 0%, p < 0.001, fixed effect model] than conventional therapy. When comparing two types of home-based interventions, subgroup analysis revealed that home-based technology treatment-electrical stimulation-provided more significant improvement in upper limb function than treatment without the use of technology (SMD: 0.64, 95% CI (0.21, 1.07), I ² = 0%, p = 0.003, random effect model).

The beneficial effects of home-based upper limb interventions were superior to conventional therapy in improving function and perceived use of the hemiparetic upper limb in daily activities. Among the home-based interventions, home-based electrical stimulation seemed to provide the most optimal benefits.