The Effect of Robot Assisted Hand Therapy in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury
Condition: Tetraplegia
MeSH terms: Spinal Cord Injuries; Quadriplegia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Considering the scarcity of studies on robotic hand therapy, it has been seen that
      larger-scale and long-term follow-up studies are needed. In this study, our aim is to compare
      the effects of robot-assisted hand therapy and conventional physiotherapy on hand functions
      and quality of life in patients with spinal cord injury.
    

Detailed description: 
      Spinal cord injury (SCI) is considered one of the most devastating injuries that cause
      lifelong disability.Among the impaired functions, upper extremity function is one of the most
      important goals of rehabilitation for these individuals.Hand functions are among the most
      important determinants of independence.Some studies have reported that in more than half of
      people with tetraplegia, restoring arm and hand function will improve quality of
      life.Therefore, small improvements in upper extremity function can make a clinically
      significant difference in feeding, bathing, transferring and other functional
      activities.Given that the majority of individuals with spinal cord injuries are in their most
      productive years and life expectancy approaches that of the healthy population, more
      aggressive treatment strategies that focus on improving peripheral muscle control and
      recovery of the central nervous system (CNS) are needed.Recently, treatment based on the
      'motor learning theory' has been reported to be effective in the recovery of impaired upper
      extremity function.It has been shown that by repetitive movements as intense as possible to
      help achieve the ultimate goal of optimum movement, patients are able to learn motor skills
      that lead to CNS recovery.It has also been suggested that repetitive and activity-based
      exercise may facilitate recovery after spinal cord injury by inducing practice-dependent
      brain and spinal cord plasticity.Therefore, repetitive, intensive, and activity-based upper
      extremity rehabilitative therapy can help improve impaired upper extremity function.In this
      context, robotic therapy (RT) may be an alternative way of delivering rehabilitative therapy
      to patients with tetraplegia, as RT can deliver consistently high-intensity, high-repetition,
      and task-specific training with less effort compared to conventional therapy.
    

Intervention name(s): Robot Assisted Therapy; Conventional Therapy
Intervention type(s): Procedure; Procedure
Intervention description(s): In robotic rehabilitation, continuous passive range of motion (CPM), active assistive exercises and assistive continuous passive range of motion (CPM Plus) programs will be used.; In the Conventional Therapy group, an exercise program consisting of passive and active assistive range of motion exercises, strengthening exercises and task-oriented exercises for 30 minutes for both hands was planned, accompanied by a physiotherapist experienced in spinal cord injury rehabilitation for at least 5 years.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Tetraplegia; Spinal cord injury; Robotic assisted therapy; Hand rehabilitation