{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T06:24:12Z","timestamp":1787898252945,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,24]],"date-time":"2025-04-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745452800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec022\">\n<jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Robotic technologies have been developed for motor rehabilitation and such robots have shown favourable results when compared with equivalent doses of usual clinical therapy. Recently, robotic interventions have been suggested to be applied in orthopaedic rehabilitation with upper extremity disorders, especially those related to hand and wrist. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of combined conventional therapy and HAL-SJ robotic therapy in restoring the wrist functionality following the fractures as compared to the standard conventional therapy solely.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec023\">\n<jats:title>Methods and analysis<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Workers with wrist fractures will be randomized in two groups, i.e., the control group (conventional therapy) and intervention group (combination of conventional therapy and robotic HAL-SJ intervention). All participants will receive 5-day\/week therapy sessions for four weeks. Primary outcomes of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) outcome measure and secondary outcomes of range of motion, grip and pinch strengths, fine and gross hand dexterity as well as pain and the Lam Assessment of Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER) will be assessed at baseline assessment and upon completion of the therapy program after 4 weeks. Data from the baseline and post intervention outcome measures will be analysed using a Repeated Measures\u00a0ANOVA to compare the therapy effectiveness of both control and intervention groups.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec024\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Participants recruitment and data collection are in progress<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec025\">\n<jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Wrist fractures can produce some residual disability and pain that may impact the functionality of a person. The application of robotic technology in facilitating upper limb movement and functional recovery training is extensive and shows positive outcomes in the field of neurorehabilitation. However, there is a lacking of published evidence about the effectiveness of robotic intervention in orthopaedic rehabilitation, especially in the field of hand therapy.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec026\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Participants recruitment and data collection are still ongoing<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec027\">\n<jats:title>Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (registration number: ACTRN12622000413729).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0322191","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,24]],"date-time":"2025-04-24T17:48:37Z","timestamp":1745516917000},"page":"e0322191","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Single Joint Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL-SJ) robotic exoskeleton therapy in improving functional outcomes among workers with wrist fractures: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Eng Wah","family":"Tan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3228-5795","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Siaw Chui","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yoshiyuki","family":"Sankai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Masahiro","family":"Shingu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nor Afifi","family":"Razaob","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hafez","family":"Hussain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,24]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0322191.ref001","first-page":"41","article-title":"Work-related hand injuries: type, location, cause, mechanism and severity in a tertiary hospital","volume":"8","author":"A Alhusuny","year":"2012","journal-title":"Malays J Med Health Sci"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0322191.ref002","first-page":"44","article-title":"Return to work after traumatic hand injuries: medical, personal and work-related factors","volume":"47","author":"E Oberfeld","year":"2015","journal-title":"Handchir Mikrochir Plast 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