Systematic review investigates timing, dose, and efficacy of upper limb interventions poststroke, suggesting need for unified research agenda.
Key Points
This review evaluates the timing, dose, and effectiveness of upper limb interventions used within six months following a stroke.
Systematic review of three databases up to July 2020, including randomized and nonrandomized studies.
Assessed risk of bias using Cochrane tools and included studies with pre/post-intervention assessments.
Examined 261 studies involving 9704 participants across different recovery epochs.
Median intervention initiation was 38 days post-stroke with high risk of bias in 62% of studies.
Typical intervention dose was 45 min/session, 1 session/day, for 5 days/week over 4 weeks.
Most common interventions were electromechanical therapy (55 studies), electrical stimulation (38 studies), and constraint-induced therapy (28 studies).