Effectiveness of a Personalized Robot-Assisted Trunk and Lower Limb Rehabilitation in Patients with Chronic Stroke: A...

To investigate the clinical effectiveness of a newly developed trunk-lower limb rehabilitation robot in patients with chronic stroke.

Randomized controlled trial conducted at a rehabilitation center. Forty patients with chronic stroke (mean age 59.48±7.63 years) were randomized to an intervention group (n=20) or a control group (n=20). The intervention group received individualized robotic trunk-lower limb training applying Jacob® (LDS Co., Ltd, Daegu, Korea) once daily, 5 times per week for 3 months, in addition to conventional rehabilitation. The control group received conventional rehabilitation only. The primary outcome was the change in Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC) from baseline to 3 months. Secondary outcomes included manual muscle testing, the Modified Ashworth Scale, Berg Balance Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and robot-based multiple kinematic parameters.

Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvements in FAC. Multiple kinematic parameters, particularly lateral bending, forward bending, weight transfer and gait ability also significantly improved (P<0.05). The control group exhibited no significant changes.

Robot-assisted trunk-lower limb training combined with conventional rehabilitation significantly improved trunk control and ambulatory function in patients with chronic stroke, supporting its potential clinical utility.