Motor task performance under vibratory feedback early poststroke: single center, randomized, cross-over, controled clinical trial

Stroke rehabilitation is far from meeting patient needs in terms of timing, intensity and quality. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of an innovative technological tool, combining 3D motion analysis with targeted vibratory feedback, on upper-limb task performance early poststroke (<4 weeks). The study design was a two-sequence, two-period, randomized, crossover trial (NCT01967290) in 44 patients with upper-limb motor deficit (non-plegic) after medial cerebral artery ischemia. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the experimental session (repetitive motor task under vibratory feedback and 3D motor characterization) or the active comparator (3D motor characterization only). The primary outcome was the number of correct movements per minute on a hand-to-mouth task measured independently. Vibratory feedback was able to modulate motor training, increasing the number of correct movements by an average of 7.2/min (95%CI [4.9;9.4]; P < 0.001) and reducing the probability of performing an error from 1:3 to 1:9. This strategy may improve the efficacy of training on motor re-learning processes after stroke, and its clinical relevance deserves further study in longer duration trials.