Rehabilitation Interventions Combined with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation on Upper Limb Motor Function in Stroke Patients

(1) Background: This systematic review aimed to focus on the effects of rehabilitation interventions combined with noninvasive brain stimulation on upper limb motor function in stroke patients. (2) Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were used for the literature research. Articles were searched using the following terms: Stroke OR CVA OR cerebrovascular accident AND upper limb OR upper extremity AND NIBS OR Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation OR rTMS OR repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation OR tDCS OR transcranial direct current stimulation AND RCT OR randomized control trial. In total, 12 studies were included in the final analysis. (3) Results: Analysis using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale for qualitative evaluation of the literature rated eight articles as excellent and four as good. Combined rehabilitation interventions included robotic therapy, motor imagery using brain-computer interaction, sensory control, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, task-oriented approach, task-oriented mirror therapy, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and behavior observation therapy. (4) Conclusions: Although it is difficult to estimate the recovery of upper limb motor function in stroke patients treated with noninvasive brain stimulation alone, a combination of a task-oriented approach, occupational therapy, action observation, wrist robot-assisted rehabilitation, and physical therapy can be effective.

Automated summary

This systematic review focused on the effects of rehabilitation interventions combined with noninvasive brain stimulation on upper limb motor function in stroke patients. The study found that a combination of a task-oriented approach, occupational therapy, action observation, wrist robot-assisted rehabilitation, and physical therapy can be effective.