Abstract
Precise and objective assessments of upper limb movement quality after strokes in functional task conditions are an important prerequisite to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of movement deficits and to prove the effectiveness of interventions. Herein, a wearable inertial sensing system was used to capture movements from the fingers to the trunk in 10 chronic stroke subjects when performing reach-to-grasp activities with the affected and non-affected upper limb. It was investigated whether the factors, tested arm, object weight, and target height, affect the expressions of range of motion in trunk compensation and flexion-extension of the elbow, wrist, and finger during object displacement. The relationship between these metrics and clinically measured impairment was explored. Nine subjects were included in the analysis, as one had to be excluded due to defective data. The tested arm and target height showed strong effects on all metrics, while an increased object weight showed effects on trunk compensation. High inter- and intrasubject variability was found in all metrics without clear relationships to clinical measures. Relating all metrics to each other resulted in significant negative correlations between trunk compensation and elbow flexion-extension in the affected arm. The findings support the clinical usability of sensor-based motion analysis.
Highlights
Human hand and arm function contribute to a wide range of activities in daily life, ranging from sensory functions to interacting with the environment and to functions that have a strong motor component like the manipulation of objects in grasping [1]
Kinematic measurements were gathered in 10 chronic stroke subjects within a recruitment period of 8 days in July 2019
Considering movement task characteristics and factors influencing the movement behavior were p to enable the evaluation of subject-specific motion aspects and assessing the dynamics of the impairments. This pilot study demonstrates the applicability of sensor-based kinematic motion analysis of functional reach-to-grasp and displacement movements in chronic stroke subjects with limited upper limb capacity by use of a wearable inertial sensing system
Summary
Human hand and arm function contribute to a wide range of activities in daily life, ranging from sensory functions to interacting with the environment and to functions that have a strong motor component like the manipulation of objects in grasping [1]. Sensors 2020, 20, 4770 cerebral artery affecting the primary motor cortex and the integrity of the corticospinal tract have been associated with upper limb movement deficits [9,10], such as weakness, decreased interjoint coordination and in particular diminished finger dexterity [11,12]. Of these motor performance aspects, weakness caused by stroke indicates the inability to activate certain upper limb muscles or segments, whereas interjoint coordination is defined as the ability to control all upper limb joints or segments in a spatially and temporally efficient manner. These stroke-related movement abnormalities might become present in isolation or combination and chronically manifested depending on the severity of deficit and cerebral region affected [11], thereby presenting a continuous challenge for treatment approaches
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