Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40521091›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology2025

Effects of a wearable hand orthosis on upper and lower limb motor recovery in stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Lijuan Xu, Jie Zhang, Qiang Liu, Yefan Cao, Nazhakaiti Aizezi, Jing Tian, Cheng Wu, Liyu Fang, Liyi Chen, Yanzheng Zhang and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Lijuan Xu *Department of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Linping Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Jie Zhang *Department of Occupational Rehabilitation Center, Shaanxi Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital, Shaanxi, China.
Qiang Liu *Department of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yefan CaoDepartment of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Nazhakaiti AizeziDepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Jing TianDepartment of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Cheng WuDepartment of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Liyu FangDepartment of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Fuyang Hospital of Orthopedics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Liyi ChenFaculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Yanzheng ZhangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Hebin Rehabilitation Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Xueming PangDepartment of Neurology, Hangzhou Linping Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Yanli LinDepartment of Nursing, Hangzhou Linping Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Jingxin WangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Hewei WangDepartment of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Orthoses have shown potential in addressing upper limb spasticity in stroke survivors; however, their influence on motor recovery remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the effects of a wearable hand orthosis on spasticity, motor recovery of both upper and lower limbs, balance, and activities of daily living in stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation department. Participants: Fifty-one stroke survivors with hemiplegia were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 26) or a control group (n = 25). Interventions: Both groups underwent a 4-week conventional rehabilitation program. Participants in the experimental group engaged in a self-directed training program utilizing a wearable hand orthosis for 5 h daily, whereas the control group followed the identical regimen without the use of the orthosis. Outcome Measures: Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) for spasticity, Fugl-Meyer Assessment for upper and lower extremities (FMA-UE & FMA-LE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Barthel Index (BI). Results: The experimental group showed greater improvements in FMA-UE (difference = 4.37, P = 0.022), BBS (difference = 12.37, P < 0.001), and BI (difference = 17.65, P < 0.001) compared to the control group. No significant differences were found in MAS (P = 0.654) or FMA-LE (P = 0.495). A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that improvement in FMA-UE was a significant predictor of BBS recovery in the experimental group ( Conclusion: The use of a wearable hand orthosis in self-directed training significantly improved upper limb motor recovery, balance, and ADL abilities in stroke survivors. The observed correlation between upper limb recovery and balance improvement indicates the potential of this orthosis to facilitate comprehensive rehabilitation.

Indexed as

balancerehabilitationspasticitystrokewearable hand orthosis

Identifiers

PMID40521091
PMCPMC12162502

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.