The purpose of this study is to see whether treating subjects for wrist rehabilitation following stroke with Botox® and robotic therapy is more effective than treatment with robotic therapy alone and no Botox®.
This study will explore new ways to facilitate rehabilitation of wrist function after stroke. One of the challenges of recovery is muscle stiffness or excessive muscle tone that often limits exercise or therapy progress. Taking this into account, the investigators propose treating the wrist and forearm with a combination of a one-time Botox® injection and a 6-week robotic therapy protocol to maximize recovery. Botox® is a drug that is injected directly into a muscle to temporarily relax the muscle. Botox® is commonly used to decrease muscle tone in tight muscles in the stroke population. Robotics therapy provides highly repetitive mass practice with visual and haptic feedback. Subjects will be randomized to two groups. Group A will receive the Botox® injection and group B will receive a placebo saline injection. Both groups will receive the same robotics therapy protocol. Subjects and investigators will be blinded to group assignment. The investigators would like to know if there are trends between groups in a variety of outcome measures depending on what intervention they received. The investigators predict that the treatment group will have better results than the control group on the Fugl Meyer, our primary outcome measure. The investigators hope the results of this pilot study will guide development of a larger clinical trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
12
the treatment group will receive a one time injection of Botox® at the wrist flexors and pronators of the affected arm. Each subject will receive a standard dose of 150 units total, 50u each to the flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris, and 25u each for the pronator teres and pronator quadratus muscle groups.
the control group will receive a one time injection of salt water in the flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris, and the pronator teres and pronator quadratus muscle groups.
New York Presbyterian Hospital- Weill Cornell campus
New York, New York, United States
Change scores on Fugl Meyer- Upper Extremity Section
The Fugl Meyer assess quality of movement of the limb at an impairment level.
Time frame: at baseline and discharge
Change on kinematic analysis
Kinematic information is recorded during administration of the assessment mode of the InMotion 3 wrist robotic device. Movements of the wrist (flexion,extension,ulnar/radial deviation) and forearm (pronation, supination)are recorded for subsequent analysis. Kinematic parameters such as smoothness, position and velocity of movement are examined pre and post injection. The information is extracted from the robotics device and analyzed via computer programs.
Time frame: before injection and one week post injection
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