Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stroke patients can have various somatosensory abnormalities and a practice-research gap exists among various measurements and treatments. Integrating case reports that bridge this gap may provide a solution to addressing this issue. PURPOSE: This systematic review integrates case reports detailing the physiotherapy management of stroke patients with recognized somatosensory impairments and determines the characteristics related to somatosensory measures, clinical symptoms, and treatments. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis statement, using PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL, and MEDLINE databases for articles published up to February 2024. Two independent authors performed a methodological quality assessment of the case reports. RESULTS: This review included 11 articles of low methodological quality, comprising 13 cases. Physiotherapists used 11 types of somatosensory measures and conducted 11 types of somatosensory training. However, all articles lacked clinical decision-making, causing inadequate accuracy, transparency, and usefulness in the case reports and physiotherapy management. CONCLUSION: Physiotherapy for stroke patients with somatosensory impairments is characterized by a lack of standard somatosensory measures and an unclear effect of somatosensory impairments on motor function, making recovery prediction difficult and causing an unclear process in treatment practices. Addressing this issue requires case reports and clinical research, highlighting the process from somatosensory examination to diagnosis.