THERAPY-Magazin
Additional mobility training for heart attack patients
Discover how early mobility training with THERA-Trainer tigo enhances functional independence in heart attack patients. Study shows faster recovery of mobility and daily living skills through robot-assisted therapy.
Jakob Tiebel
Business Owner, N+ Digital Health Agency
Effect of early robot-assisted physiotherapy on the assessment of functional independence in patients after myocardial infarction
As with other cardiovascular diseases, robotic training is also widely used as part of rehabilitation after heart attacks.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The most common form of CHD is myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack.. The number of patients admitted to hospital after suffering a heart attack is steadily increasing. This indicates a great need for effective rehabilitation. In early hospital rehabilitation, the main goals are to prevent deconditioning and thromboembolic complications and to prepare patients for discharge, as well as to return to normal daily life as soon as possible. As with other cardiovascular diseases, robotic training is also widely used as part of rehabilitation after heart attacks. So far, however, there has been no significant clinical evidence for its use in cardiac patients of working age.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of assistive robot-based mobility training in post-MI patients. The target group of the study were patients of working age (<64 years) who need an effective physiotherapeutic process to return to work and daily life as soon as possible.
A total of 92 (50 men, 42 women) hospitalised post-MI patients with an age of 60.9 ± 2.32 years participated in the study. An early intensive physiotherapy programme (7×/week, 2×/day) with an average duration of 45 minutes per session was performed for each patient. Patients were consecutively assigned to the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). 20 minutes of robot-assisted training with the THERA-Trainer tigo bed or seat bike were integrated into all EG physiotherapy sessions. The FIM score (Functional Independence Measures) at admission and after 14 days of rehabilitation was used for assessment. Subjective stress perception and stress intensity were assessed using the BORG scale.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of assistive robot-based mobility training in post-MI patients. The target group of the study were patients of working age (<64 years) who need an effective physiotherapeutic process to return to work and daily life as soon as possible.
A total of 92 (50 men, 42 women) hospitalised post-MI patients with an age of 60.9 ± 2.32 years participated in the study. An early intensive physiotherapy programme (7×/week, 2×/day) with an average duration of 45 minutes per session was performed for each patient. Patients were consecutively assigned to the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). 20 minutes of robot-assisted training with the THERA-Trainer tigo bed or seat bike were integrated into all EG physiotherapy sessions. The FIM score (Functional Independence Measures) at admission and after 14 days of rehabilitation was used for assessment. Subjective stress perception and stress intensity were assessed using the BORG scale.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of assistive robot-based mobility training in post‑MI patients.
When analysing the time-group effect using ANOVA with repeated measures, it was found that the EG showed better results in activities of daily living (p <0.001) and motor indicators (p = 0.001). The effect of the therapy was higher in the EG where the additional robot-assisted movement training had been integrated into the physiotherapy programme. The patients in the EG improved especially in the areas of verticalisation, hygiene and mobility.
These results indicate an improvement in performing daily activities and in mobility. The researchers conclude that the early use of robotic physiotherapy offers additional treatment benefits in the rehabilitation of patients after a heart attack. As part of the experiment, the patients regularly exercised on the THERA-Trainer tigo, a cycling trainer for use while lying or sitting.
These results indicate an improvement in performing daily activities and in mobility. The researchers conclude that the early use of robotic physiotherapy offers additional treatment benefits in the rehabilitation of patients after a heart attack. As part of the experiment, the patients regularly exercised on the THERA-Trainer tigo, a cycling trainer for use while lying or sitting.
The need for effective and efficient rehabilitation measures will continue to increase in the coming years as more and more people suffer from the consequences of coronary heart disease. These research results show that robot-assisted therapy using assistive mobility therapy devices has a positive effect and offers additional treatment benefits to patients after a myocardial infarction. The FIM indicators of the experimental group improved in the areas of ADLs and mobility with a statistically significant difference compared to the group with only conventional physiotherapy. Based on the results, the use of mobility trainers in the early rehabilitation of heart attack patients can only be recommended. However, due to the lack of evidence so far, the positive effects of the intervention are still relatively unknown to the professional public. Further research is needed to validate the results and to implement them as comprehensively as possible in everyday care.
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Jakob Tiebel
Business Owner, N+ Digital Health Agency
Jakob Tiebel studied applied psychology with a focus on health economics. He has clinical expertise from his previous therapeutic work in neurorehabilitation. He conducts research and publishes on the theory-practice transfer in neurorehabilitation and is the owner of Native.Health, an agency for digital health marketing.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140991/ Bartík P, Vostrý M, Hudáková Z, Šagát P, Lesňáková A, Dukát A. The Effect of Early Applied Robot-Assisted Physiotherapy on Functional Independence Measure Score in Post-Myocardial Infarction Patients. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 May 18;10(5):937. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10050937. PMID: 35628074; PMCID: PMC9140991.
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