Combined stroke rehabilitation leaves balance benefits uncertain
A review of brain stimulation paired with robotic walking training found an inconclusive pooled result on a balance scale.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review did not establish that combining transcranial direct current stimulation with robotic gait training improves balance after stroke. The pooled balance result was not statistically significant and had a wide confidence interval. This uncertainty leaves room for different effects; it does not prove that the combined approach has no benefit.
This abstract-based summary is limited by differing protocols and outcomes, plus missing comparator and treatment-duration details. The authors describe good tolerability but provide no adverse-event counts.
What researchers found
Balance on the Berg Balance Scale
The estimate favors combined treatment by 0.329 standard deviations, units based on score spread within studies rather than Berg Balance Scale points. Comparators and assessment timing were unreported.
What was pooled
The approach paired transcranial direct current stimulation with robot-assisted walking practice. Although the review included 5 studies, only 3 contributed to the pooled Berg Balance Scale analysis, which was not statistically significant.
Reading the uncertainty
The confidence interval spans negative and positive effects, leaving the direction and size uncertain. Improvement in individual studies does not settle the question when their combined estimate remains imprecise.
The original publication
Combined Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Robotic-Assisted Gait Training for Balance Rehabilitation Poststroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Alashram AR
Physiother Res Int · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41456318
- Record checked
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