ROBOTIC THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY IN STROKE PATIENTS,A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: conventional therapy has been shown to be effective in treating stroke patients, but its techniques are sometimes monotonous, reducing patient adherence. In recent years, technologies have been developed that provide these patients with key elements of an adequate neurorehabilitation program, such as robotic systems for gait reeducation. The aim of the present work is to compare the effects of robotic therapy and conventional therapy in gait reeducation in stroke patients. Material and method: a search was carried out in the Pub-med and Medline databases using the Mesh term “Robotics” and the keywords “physical therapy modalities”, stroke” and “gait”. Randomized clinical trial, published in the last five years in Spanish, English, French, Italian or Portuguese were included whose sample consisted of stroke patients and whose intervention made a comparison between robotic therapy and conventional therapy. Results: the search strategy yielded a total of 39 results of which a total of 8 randomized clinical trials were included in this review. The devices analyzed are the Lokomat,used in 4 of the studies. Devices such as Gait Exercise Assist Robot, Stride Management Assist, i-Walker, and Robowalk have been used in the remaining studies. Conclusion: the application of robotic therapy can be a useful support in the rehabilitation of people with stroke for the recovery of functionality while walking, but no real and superior efficacy compared to conventional therapy has been demonstrated.