Original articleVariation of Muscle Coactivation Patterns in Chronic Stroke During Robot-Assisted Elbow Training
Section snippets
Methods
After obtaining approval from the Human Subjects Ethics Sub-Committee of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, we recruited 7 hemiplegic subjects after stroke for the study. All of the subjects were in the chronic stage (at least 1y postonset of stroke; 6 men, 1 woman; age, 51.1±9.7y). All subjects received a robot-assisted elbow training program consisting of 20 sessions, with at least 3 sessions a week and at most 5 sessions a week, and finished in 7 consecutive weeks. Each training session
Results
Table 1 shows the clinical scales used for the impairment evaluation before and after the 20-session training. It was found that the mean values of scores for FMA and MSS had increased significantly (t tests, P<.05) and the mean value of MAS decreased significantly (t tests, P<.05) after the training. For each subject, the clinical scales indicated improvements in at least 2 items.
Figure 3 shows the variation of the overall RMSE of the elbow angle during the tracking training. The overall RMSE
Discussion
After the 20 sessions of robot training of the elbow extension/flexion, motor improvements could be observed in all subjects, associated with the improved clinical scores, and decreases in the RMSE, cocontraction indexes, and electromyographic activation levels. The decrease in the clinical score of MAS suggested a reduction in spasticity of the impaired upper limb of the subjects. Increases in the FMA score and MSS implied improved motor functions of the paretic upper limb during prescribed
Conclusions
In this study, significant motor improvements assessed by MAS, FMA, and MSS were observed after the 20-session training on elbow tracking task actively assisted by a rehabilitation robot. The muscle coactivation patterns during the interactive robot-assisted training on elbow flexion and extension were analyzed by the electromyographic activation level of individual muscles and the electromyographic cocontraction index of the muscle pairs. The electromyographic activation levels of the major
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Supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (grant no. PolyU 5271/05E) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (grant nos. G-U056, G-YX65).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.