Interventions to improve upper extremity reaching function in persons with stroke: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background

A majority of stroke patients have persisting upper extremity impairments, with a large number of individuals who do not regain the ability to reach and manipulate everyday objects despite receiving prolonged and intensive therapy. Varied interventions have been employed to improve reaching functions. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive and updated review of all the interventions that can be used to improve upper extremity reaching function in stroke.

Objective

To review the existing interventions aimed to improve upper extremity reaching function in persons with stroke.

Inclusion criteria

Studies with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods design which have employed interventions to improve upper extremity reaching function following stroke and have been published from database inception to 25th February 2021 in English.

Methods

The proposed scoping review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist and will be conducted as per the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. A database-specific search strategy will be used in four electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science) and four grey literature platforms (ProQuest, MedNAR, OpenGrey, New York Academy of Medicine). The screening and extraction of data from eligible studies will be done independently by two reviewers. The extracted data will be presented with the help of tables and visual representation.

Discussion

Previously conducted reviews have enumerated the various types of interventions that have been used to improve upper extremity reaching function, but are incomprehensive and in need of an update. This review will provide an overview of all the therapeutic interventions which might aid in clinical decision making during stroke rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Cerebrovascular accident
• rehabilitation
• reach to grasp
• reach to target
• reach to manipulate

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author’s contributions

All authors have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and/or design of the study, (2) drafting the article and/or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and (3) final approval of the version to be submitted. Each of the authors have read and concur with the content in the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for writing this scoping review protocol.

Notes on contributors

Vriddhi Shetty

Vriddhi Shetty is a postgraduate student currently pursuing her master of physiotherapy degree in neurosciences (Elective – Neurological physiotherapy) at the department of physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. She has completed her bachelor of physiotherapy from Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Her areas of interest include stroke rehabilitation, game-based rehabilitation, and upper extremity recovery post-stroke.

A Sulfikar Ali

A Sulfikar Ali is a PhD research fellow at the department of physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education; who has completed his bachelor of physiotherapy and master of physiotherapy in neurosciences (Elective – Adult neurology). He has received the IFNR young fellowship award at the 7th annual conference of Indian Federation of Neuro-rehabilitation in 2019. His current research involve game-based rehabilitation to improve upper limb function following stroke. His areas of interest include stroke rehabilitation, upper limb rehabilitation, action observation therapy, virtual reality rehabilitation, and game-based rehabilitation following stroke.

Manikandan Natarajan

Manikandan Natarajan is currently working in the capacity of Associate Professor (Senior scale) in the department of physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal. He is a physiotherapist specialized in adult neurological rehabilitation with special interests in stroke, movement disorders, and gait rehabilitation. As a part of his doctoral research, he has developed and validated an outcome measure to assess mobility disability in community dwelling individuals. His current research involves use of motor priming methods like action observation training and using strategies to improving physical activity and exercise adherence in people with stroke. He is also involved in technological innovation of designing devices for assessment and rehabilitation of people with neurological disorders.

Senthil Kumaran D

Senthil Kumaran D is an Associate Professor in the department of physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He is a neurological physiotherapist with a special interest in stroke recovery and rehabilitation research. He has more than 19 years of teaching and clinical experience working towards rehabilitating people with neurological disorders. He is a FAIMER fellow, holds a PhD and he owns three copyrights for literary work resulting from his PhD. His current research interest includes upper extremity post-stroke recovery patterns, task-based training, game-based training, action observation therapy, kinetic and kinematic analysis of upper extremity following stroke.