Robot-assisted lower limb rehabilitation of hemiplegia

Objective To investigate the effects of robot-assisted lower limb rehabilitation on the lower limb motor function of hemiplegic patients in the acute stage.Methods Forty-two hemiplegic patients in the acute stage were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with 21 in each.Both groups were treated with routine rehabilitation interventions,but the treatment group also undertook robot-assisted lower limb rehabilitation training.The training lasted for 10 to 20 min/d,6 d/week for 8 weeks.Lower limb motor function,balance,ability in the activities of daily living and walking ability were assessed with a simplified Fugl-Meyer assessment,the Berg balance scale,the Rivermead motility index (RMI) and functional ambulation categories (FACs).Results Before the intervention there was no significant difference between the two groups in any of the assessments.After training,both groups showed significant improvements in terms of their FMA,BBS,RMI and FAC results.The treatment group showed significantly better improvements in lower limb motor function,balance,ability in daily living and walking ability compared with the control group.Conclusions Robot-assisted lower limb rehabilitation can significantly improve the lower limb motor function of hemiplegic patients in the acute stage. Key words: Robot-assisted rehabilitation;  Stroke;  Motor function;  Cerebrovascular accident