Robot-Assisted Therapies for Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation: A Narrative Review

Robot-assisted therapies performed especially via End Effector devices and Humanoid Exoskeleton arms have grown rapidly and can offer physical training comprising intensive, task-oriented, strenuous limb exercises to Stroke patients. It has the advantage over traditional physiotherapy methods in reducing manpower demands and facilitating extended duration of stay and training alongside patients during their rehabilitation phase. The therapies focus on key functional outcomes such as the patient’s muscle strength, range of motion, and functional independence in the activities of daily living. The functional outcomes achieved through robot-assisted therapies are social interaction and participation, the performance of the upper limb during functional tasks, and improvement in the manual dexterity of the patients. One of the most common evaluation tools to assess the performance of the upper extremity before and after Stroke therapy is Fugl-Meyer of the upper extremity. The main aim of the review is to analyze the functional outcomes in Stroke patients who undergo robot-assisted therapies for stroke in the upper extremity. The prime motive behind the work is to compare the merits of robot-assisted therapies over traditional therapeutic methods in upper extremity stroke rehabilitation.