Session Information
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019
Session Title: Neurological Rehabilitation Research Report
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 6
Disclosures: Alberto Esquenazi, MD, FAAPMR: Ipsen: Research Grant or Support
Objective: To determine the benefit of supplemental therapeutic lower limb walking exercise in acute stroke rehabilitation with either a robotic or conventional therapy.
Design: Participants were randomized to receive supplemental therapy of either 30 minutes of conventional or 30 minutes of Lokomat® robotic training up to 5 days per week. Their involvement in the study was dependent on length of stay.
Setting: Acute tertiary rehabilitation hospital
Participants: Acute stroke patients with unilateral hemiparesis ≥ 18 years of age with a MAS ≤3.
Interventions: Patients participated in conventional therapy that assured compliance with health mandates of time and staff (3 hours of one-to-one therapy). Participants were randomized to receive supplemental therapy of either 30 minutes of conventional (control) or 30 minutes of Lokomat® robotic training (intervention) up to 5 days per week aimed at walking. Their overall involvement in the study was dependent on length of stay.
Main Outcome Measures: Number of steps and treatment sessions through the stay; serious/adverse events (S/AEs); Functional Independence Measure (FIM) efficiency and Modified Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE).
Results: 11 Lokomat and 9 conventional participants have enrolled so far. Participants in the conventional group on average had more training days (10.6) than the Lokomat group (6.0); number of training days was not statistically different (P =.08). Number of steps per day was statistically larger for the Lokomat group (P=.4). FIM efficiency did not yield statistically significant difference between groups (P = .71). Four Lokomat and three participants from the conventional group reported AEs. No SAEs were reported
Conclusions: These preliminary findings provide a proof-of-concept demonstration that an additional lower limb exercise in combination with mandated multi-disciplinary therapies in acute stroke population is tolerable and, when implemented with a robot, can significantly increase the number of steps. Although the training groups did not yet yield statistical significance, FIM efficiency improved.
Level of Evidence: Level I
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Esquenazi A, Cao N, Lee S. Effect of a Supplemental Robotic Therapeutic Walking Exercise in Acute Stroke Rehabilitation [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-a-supplemental-robotic-therapeutic-walking-exercise-in-acute-stroke-rehabilitation/. Accessed June 12, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-a-supplemental-robotic-therapeutic-walking-exercise-in-acute-stroke-rehabilitation/