Introduction: The upper limbs are an important part of the body, as we use them to perform many basic activities of daily living. One of the most common movement disorders is essential tremor, which can affect the quality of life. Tremor can be controlled by various therapies, drug treatment or surgical intervention. A certain proportion of patients are not suitable for these methods, which is wht mechanical suppresion of tremor uusing orthoses has recently gained importance. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to review the exisitng orthoses for the control of essencial tremor of the upper limbs based on review of the literature. The effectiveness of orthoses that regulate or alleviate the severity of tremor will be examined in more detail and their advantages and disadvanteges will be elaborated. Methods: The work is based on a review of the literature on upper limb orthoses used in the treatment of essential tremor. We have studied their characteristics, efficacy and tremor control mechanism. We focused on the results of studies in which individual orthoses were analyzed. Results: We considered 11 articles and one disertation reporting on existing orthhoses and recent developments in the control of essential tremor. Results are organised according to the number od subject involved in the research, review of existing orthoses and resulting improvements or development of new orthoses. Discussion and conclusion: Orthotic development progresses best with orthoses that extend from the elbow to the wrist. Most orthoses have an active action system, but semi-active and passive action mechanisms also exist. The average efficiency of active orthoses ranges from 8% to 83%, semi-active orthoses range from 19% to 77% and passive orthoses range from 12% to 75%. Problems with use may be caused by the weight and/or awkwardness of the orthosis as well as by appearance itself. It was also pointed out that in a review of previous research, none has focused on the use of these devices in combination with pharmaceutical or surgical treatment. It was amphhasized that something could be developed in this direction, as orthoses have the potential to reduc medication use and prolong the effectivness of surgical treatments for essential tremor.
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