Effects of Gait Training with Lower-Limb Robotic Exoskeletons and Exoskeleton-Type Devices on Gait Symmetry and Gait Speed in Patients with Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Chengshuo Zhang, Jiarong Wu, Wanli Zang, Qiuxia Zhang

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Chengshuo ZhangSchool of Physical Education, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China.

Jiarong WuSchool of Physical Education, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China.

Wanli ZangSchool of Physical Education, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9712-4557

Qiuxia ZhangSchool of Physical Education, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2379-7193

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gait asymmetry and reduced gait speed (GS) are common after stroke. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of gait training with lower-limb robotic exoskeletons or exoskeleton-type devices on gait asymmetry and GS compared with conventional rehabilitation or non-robotic gait training. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched from inception to 21 June 2026. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting spatial gait asymmetry (SGA), temporal gait asymmetry (TGA), or GS were included. Standardized mean differences (SMDs; Hedges' g) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects models. Eleven RCTs involving 532 randomized participants were included. Training with these devices reduced SGA (SMD = -0.68, 95% CI -1.13 to -0.22,

Indexed as

exoskeleton-type devicegait speedgait symmetrylower-limb robotic exoskeletonmeta-analysisrobot-assisted gait trainingstrokesystematic review

Identifiers

PMID42649782

DOI10.3390/bioengineering13080892

PMCPMC13509587

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.