Robot-assisted stair climbing training and conventional physiotherapy in chronic stroke patients. A preliminary comparison

Introduction: Stair-climbing up and down is an essential part of everyday’s mobility. Physiotherapy focuses on strengthening, real in terms of intensity stair-climbing practice. The present work aims at a comparison whether an intensive robot-assisted stair climbing training (RASCT) is more effective than conventional physiotherapy (CP) for improving stair climbing ability and gait in stroke patients. Material and Methods: Ten patients were randomly assigned to RASCT(n = 5) or CP(n = 5) group. Patients underwent ten - utive weeks either RASCT or CP. The primary outcome was the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Time Up and Go Test (TUG), 10-Meter - muscles were also assessed before and after treatment. Results: At enrolment no differences were found between RASCT and CP for all outcomes. After the intervention improvements were found for in the RASCT group, but not for the CP group. Improvements were more physiological muscle activation in RASCT group (5 lower - served. Conclusion: RASCT may reduce the time required to climbing up and down the stairs. A larger sample is required to reveal the superiority of one approach rather than another one.