Rehabilitation Effort to Improve Upper Extremity Function in Post-Stroke Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of rehabilitation upon improving upper extremity function in post-stroke patients. A meta-analysis combined the results reported in the literature concerning this issue. Fourteen citations met our inclusion criteria, of which the overall effect value was 0.33. However, the reported effects varied considerably. Subgroup analysis revealed the following effect values without significant heterogeneity: the effect value of neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) compared with conventional physical therapy was -0.01; that of conventional physical therapy compared with no treatment was 0.51; that of EMG biofeedback compared with conventional physical therapy was 0.85 and that of EMG biofeedback compared with no treatment was 0.75. Therefore, it was concluded that the effects of NDT and conventional physical therapy are similar, in that conventional physical therapy has a medium effect and EMG biofeedback has a large effect on improving upper extremity function in post-stroke patients.