The effects of robot-assisted lower-limb rehabilitation plus psychological intervention on post-stroke depression

Objective To observe the effects of a lower-limb rehabilitation robot plus psychological intervention on depression and lower limb motor function of the stroke patients.Methods Sixty stroke patients were randomly divided into a treatment group (n =30) and a control group (n =30).The patients of control group were treated with routine rehabilitation and psychological intervention,while the treatment group were treated with lowerlimb rehabilitation robot,in addition to the interventions of the control group,for 10-20 minutes daily,6 days per week for 8 weeks.Both groups were assessed with Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD),Simplified Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) before and at the end of 2,4 and 8 weeks of treatment.Results There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in all the assessment parameters before and after 2 weeks of treatment.At the end of 4 weeks of treatment,both groups improved significantly with regard to the scores of HAMD,FMA and FAC classification,and the treatment group improved to a significantly greater extent than the control group (P ＜ 0.05).At the end of 8 weeks of treatment the scores of HAMD,FMA and FAC classification were further improved significantly in treatment groups when compared with values obtained at the end of 4 weeks after treatment,but the scores of the control group was not significantly improved at the end of 8 weeks when compared with those at the end of 4 weeks of treatment.Conclusion Lower-limb rehabilitation robot plus psychological intervention can significantly help relieve the post-stroke depression and improve lower motor function of stroke patients. Key words: Lower-limb rehabilitation robot ;  Psychological intervention ;  Stroke ;  Depression ;  Motor function