Enhancing Hand Motor Recovery Poststroke: A Comparative Study of Robotic vs Conventional Mirror Therapy

To evaluate the therapeutic effect of using a robotic exoskeletal hand (RMT) combined with mirror therapy (MT) in hand rehabilitation for poststroke patients, compared to conventional MT.

Randomized controlled trial.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic.

Forty poststroke subjects.

Participants were divided into 2 groups: one received robotic exoskeletal hand therapy combined with mirror therapy (RMT+MT), and the other received conventional MT. The intervention lasted for 6 weeks.

Hand motor function abilities were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremities (FMA-UE)-Hand Motor Domain, and finger dexterity was evaluated with the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT).

The RMT group showed significant improvement in hand motor function, with a median FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain score increasing from 6 to 14 (P=.000). Finger dexterity also improved significantly in the RMT group (P=.000). The conventional MT group demonstrated significant improvements in both the FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain (P=.001) and NHPT (P=.000). However, the RMT group achieved greater improvements, with significant differences between the 2 groups in both FMA-UE-Hand Motor Domain (P=.038) and NHPT (P=.026) scores.

RMT is significantly more effective in restoring hand motor skills and improving finger dexterity in patients with poststroke rehabilitation compared to conventional MT.