Human Touch Helps Stroke Victims More

(May 11, 2008) - Machines can help people a lot but it appears that nothing replaces the helping hands of another human. Walking therapy for stroke survivors (Read about "Stroke") is significantly more effective when conducted by a physical therapist instead of a robot, according a small study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Research suggests that, for a patient who has neurological damage from stroke or spinal cord injury, moving the legs in a way that mimics walking on a treadmill can facilitate walking recovery. (Read about "Rehabilitation")

Physical therapists often assist stroke patients too weak to walk on their own by fitting them in a harness, putting them on a treadmill and helping them move as they would when walking. But this can be physically demanding on a therapist, and robotic devices have been developed as an alterative to relieve the therapist.

Some research has shown that robotic devices could improve walking ability, but recent animal studies have indicated that providing strict guidance during training could reduce the recovery achieved.

"We found that stroke patients improved their walking whether they had the robotic device or the therapist helping them," said T. George Hornby, Ph.D., M.P.T., the study's lead author.

"However, the amount of improvement was greater in the therapist-assisted group."

The researchers noted greater improvements in the therapist-assisted group in walking speed and patients' amount of time spent on the weak leg during walking. Patients in the therapist-assisted group who had severe walking deficits also perceived that their quality of life improved after therapy because they had fewer physical limitations. The same was not true for the robotic therapy group.