Background: Stroke is one of the most common causes of disability and death worldwide. In the acute phase, 80-85% of patients experience upper-limb motor impairment, and in 60% of cases, the impairment persists into the chronic phase. Neuromodulation techniques are increasingly being used to supplement rehabilitation programmes. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimula-tion is a non-invasive alternative to surgically implanted vagus nerve stimulation and produces comparable effects on brain activi-ty. This literature review aimed to investigate the efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, combined with various forms of rehabilitation, on upper limb motor function in post-stroke patients.
Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed and PEDro. Studies published after 2014 were included.
Results: Six studies were included in the review. Two studies investigated the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, combined with robotic upper-limb rehabilitation. The remaining four studies investigated the effects of transcutane-ous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, combined with various upper-limb exercises, with one study also including postural control exercises, proprioceptive training, neuromuscular facilitation and gait training. All studies reported improvements in upper limb motor function.
Conclusion: Transcutaneous auricular stimulation of the vagus nerve in combination with other physiotherapeutic interventions may be a potentially more effective approach than standard physiotherapy without electrical stimulation. Future studies with larger sample sizes, standardised stimulation parameters, intervention durations, and exercise protocols are required.
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