Effectiveness of the Armeo ® device in the rehabilitation of the upper limb of stroke's patients. A review of the literature
*Correspondencia: Dra. Alicia Cuesta Gómez. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Avda. Atenas, s/n. E-28922 Alcorcón (Madrid).
E-mail: alicia.cuesta@urjc.es
Introduction: The stroke affects the functionality and quality of life of the person. Therefore, one of the main objectives is the functional recovery of the upper limb. Robotic therapy is a new tool of rehabilitation in stroke patients. The aim of this paper is to accomplish a bibliographic review about the effectiveness of the Armeo ® device in the rehabilitation of the upper limb in patients with stroke.
Development: This review includes studies dated until April 2019, which investigate the rehabilitation of the upper limb through Armeo in patients with stroke. The following databases were consulted: PubMed, Web of Science, Medline Complete, Scopus, CINAHL and BRAIN. Six articles were selected and analyzed, including randomized controlled trials and clinical trials. The main results of the studies indicate a positive trend of the robotic therapy with Armeo combined with conventional therapy.
Conclusion: The low quality and the limitations found on the studies determine the need for future studies that investigate the effectiveness of the device. Despite this, the positive effect observed motivates new research.
Desarrollo Se recopilaron artículos que investigaran la rehabilitación del miembro superior a través de Armeo en pacientes con ictus hasta abril de 2019. Se consultaron las siguientes bases de datos: PubMed, Web of Science, Medline Complete, Scopus, CINAHL y BRAIN. Se analizaron seis artículos, entre los cuales había ensayos controlados aleatorizados y ensayos clínicos. Los principales resultados de los estudios indican una tendencia positiva de la terapia robótica con Armeo combinada con terapia convencional.
Conclusión La baja calidad metodológica y las limitaciones encontradas en los estudios determinan la necesidad de estudios futuros que investiguen la efectividad del dispositivo. A pesar de ello, el efecto positivo observado motiva a nuevas investigaciones.