Proprioceptive Sensitivity Research Articles

Compensatory action of the index and middle finger in the kinematic chain of a basketball shot

Purpose Performing effective actions requires the basketball player to balance factors such as motor variability, error minimalization and a complex sequence of coordination to determine the best action. Aim of study. The aim of the study was to differentiate the strength of the muscles of the index and middle fingers when performing a basketball shot. Methods Material and method. Study group enrolled 122 male college basketball league students. The study included psychophysiological tests to determine indices of individual and typological characteristics of higher nervous activity, proprioceptive sensitivity tests of the fingers of the leading hand, and field tests to assess participants' shooting skills. The touch-based finger pressure sensing system measured the different levels of pressure exerted by the participants' main index and middle finger during grasping. Results For both the middle and index finger, the highest correlation with shot efficiency was found for a 120 g load g (p < 0,01 for 2PS; 2PS40 suc; FT; 3PSO and 3,5mS). Furthermore, high reproducibility of proprioceptive sensitivity of the index and middle finger of the leading hand was found in basketball players. Conclusions The research indicates that it is possible to organize compensatory behavior between joints on the basis of proprioception, with the last compensatory movements of the kinematic chain being performed by the fingers of the hand. The demonstrated high proprioceptive sensitivity of the index and middle finger of the leading hand in basketball players at a weekly interval may indicate ability to maintain high repeatability of movements controlled by these fingers.

The Effect of Whole-Body Vibration on Proprioception and Motor Function for Individuals with Moderate Parkinson Disease: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction Previous studies have shown that whole-body vibration (WBV) may have a potential impact on gait and balance in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, this body of work has proven inconclusive due to the diverse disease progression and broad age range associated with PD. The effects of WBV on proprioception, a sense frequently affected by PD, has rarely been studied. Objective To investigate the short-term effect of WBV on proprioception and motor function for individual with moderate PD. Design A single-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting. A hospital and a laboratory. Participants. 32 participants with moderate PD were recruited and randomly assigned into either the WBV or conventional therapy groups. Interventions. For the WBV group, each treatment session included five, one-minute bouts of whole-body vibration paired with one-minute rest (frequency: 6 Hz; amplitude: 3 mm). Each conventional therapy participant received balance and mobility training for 10 minutes. Main Outcome Measures. Outcome measures included proprioceptive sensitivity of the upper limb, position sense of the knee joint, Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale : motor section (UPDRS-motor), functional reach test (FRT), and the timed up and go test (TUG). Results No statistically significant difference was found between groups. However, both groups showed a significant improvement in motor function after treatment, including UPDRS-motor (P = 0.04), less affected side of FRT (P = 0.019), and TUG (P = 0.006). Conclusions Although the effect of WBV was not superior to the conventional therapy, it provided a passive and safe clinical intervention as an alternative treatment, especially for individuals with motor impairment or poor balance function.

Effect of Load, Angle, and Contraction Type on Clinically Assessed Knee Joint Position Sense.

Proprioception is an individual's awareness of body position in 3-dimensional space. How proprioceptive acuity changes under varying conditions such as joint position, load, and concentric or eccentric contraction type is not well understood. In addition, a limitation of the variety of techniques to assess proprioception is the lack of clinically feasible methods to capture proprioceptive acuity. The purpose of this study was to implement a readily available instrument, a smartphone, in the clinical evaluation of knee active joint position sense and to determine how joint angle, joint loading, and quadriceps contraction type affect an individual's active joint position sense. Cross-over study. Twenty healthy, physically active university participants (10 women and 10 men: 21.4 [2.0]y; 1.73 [0.1]m; 70.9 [14.3]kg) were recruited. Individuals were included if they had no neurological disorder, no prior knee surgery, and no recent knee injury. The participants were given a verbal instruction to locate a target angle and then were tasked with reproducing the target angle without visual or verbal cues. An accelerometer application on a smartphone was used to assess the angle to the nearest tenth of a degree. Three variables, each with 2 levels, were analyzed in this study: load (weighted and unweighted), contraction type (eccentric and concentric), and joint position (20° and 70°). A repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to assess the within-subjects factors of load, contraction, and position. A significant difference of 0.50° (0.19°) of greater error with eccentric versus concentric contraction (P = .02) type was identified. In addition, a significant interaction was found for contraction × position, with a mean increase in error of 0.98° (0.33°) at the 20° position when contracting eccentrically (P = .03). Contraction type, specifically eccentric contraction at 20°, showed significantly greater error than concentric contraction. This suggests that, during eccentric contractions of the quadriceps, there may be decreased proprioceptive sensitivity compared with concentric contractions.

Perceptual Awareness of Optic Flows Paced Optimally and Non-optimally to Walking Speed

Previous research suggests that visual processing depends strongly on locomotor activity and is tuned to optic flows consistent with self-motion speed. Here, we used a binocular rivalry paradigm to investigate whether perceptual access to optic flows depends on their optimality in relation to walking velocity. Participants walked at two different speeds on a treadmill while viewing discrepant visualizations of a virtual tunnel in each eye. We hypothesized that visualizations paced appropriately to the walking speeds will be perceived longer than non optimal (too fast/slow) ones. The presented optic flow speeds were predetermined individually in a task based on matching visual speed to both walking velocities. In addition, perceptual preference for optimal optic flows was expected to increase with proprioceptive ability to detect threshold-level changes in walking speed. Whereas faster (more familiar) optic flows showed enhanced access to awareness during faster compared with slower walking conditions, for slower visual flows, only a nonsignificant tendency for the analogous effect was observed. These effects were not dependent on individual proprioceptive sensitivity. Our findings concur with the emerging view that the velocity of one's locomotion is used to calibrate visual perception of self-motion and extend the scope of reported action effects on visual awareness.

Somatosensory versus cerebellar contributions to proprioceptive changes associated with motor skill learning: A theta burst stimulation study

BackgroundIt is well established that proprioception (position sense) is important for motor control, yet its role in motor learning and associated plasticity is not well understood. We previously demonstrated that motor skill learning is associated with enhanced proprioception and changes in sensorimotor neurophysiology. However, the neural substrates mediating these effects are unclear. ObjectiveTo determine whether suppressing activity in the cerebellum and somatosensory cortex (S1) affects proprioceptive changes associated with motor skill learning. Methods54 healthy young adults practiced a skill involving visually-guided 2D reaching movements through an irregular-shaped track using a robotic manipulandum with their right hand. Proprioception was measured using a passive two-alternative choice task before and after motor practice. Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) was delivered over S1 or the cerebellum (CB) at the end of training for two consecutive days. We compared group differences (S1, CB, Sham) in proprioception and motor skill, quantified by a speed-accuracy function, measured on a third consecutive day (retention). ResultsAs shown previously, the Sham group demonstrated enhanced proprioceptive sensitivity after training and at retention. The S1 group had impaired proprioceptive function at retention through online changes during practice, whereas the CB group demonstrated offline decrements in proprioceptive function. All groups demonstrated motor skill learning. However, the magnitude of learning differed between the CB and Sham groups, consistent with a role for the cerebellum in motor learning. ConclusionOverall, these findings suggest that the cerebellum and S1 are important for distinct aspects of proprioceptive changes during skill learning.

Objective Accuracy Indicators of the Single-Joint Arm Movements Simultaneous Reproduction with Closed Eyes and under Visual Control in Patients with Hemiparesis and Healthy Test Subjects (a New Method for Proprioceptive Sensitivity Objective Assessment)

Aim. We have developed a method for objective assessment of proprioceptive sensitivity (PS) based on determining the accuracy of reproduction with the eyes closed of the tested arm passive single-joint movements by active movements of the other arm during their execution. It was shown that healthy test subjects reproduce the passive movements with high accuracy, while post-stroke patients with hemiparesis reproduce a large proportion of paretic arm test movements with gross qualitative and quantitative errors. To make sure that the reproduction errors are associated with the state of PS but not with the cognitive factor or the functional state of the conditionally healthy arm, it was necessary to find out how accurately these patients are able to reproduce the test-movements under visual control. Materials and Methods. In 11 patients with a lesion in the right and in 9 patients in the left hemispheres of the brain and a control group of 23 healthy subjects, the accuracy of reproduction of the 5 elementary hand movements was studied: flexion-extension in the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and abduction–adduction in the shoulder and wrist joints. The test person was subjected to a series of passive cyclic movements of the test hand during which he had to copy them with active movements of the other hand. The reproduction procedure for each test movement was performed first under visual control and then with the eyes closed. The angles in the test join and the same joint of the other arm were recorded. Qualitative and quantitative indicators were used to assess the degree of similarity of active and passive movements and to reveal the correspondence of copying accuracy to the previously developed conditional criterion of the norm (CCN) of PS in healthy test subjects. Results. It was shown that in healthy test subjects the accuracy of all movements copying in tests with closed eyes and 98% of movements in tests with opened eyes met the requirements of the CCN. In the group of patients in tests with eyes closed, copying only 61% of movements met this criterion. 20.4% of movements were reproduced with qualitative gross errors, 18.4% were copied qualitatively correctly but differed from CCN in quantitative indicators. In tests with visual tracking of passive movements, reproduction of 98% of movements was qualitatively correct and 83% of movements corresponded to CCN. Conclusions. The vast majority of single-articular movements of the paretic arm are copied by patients with unilateral brain damage under visual control qualitatively correctly and accurately (meeting the CCN). It means that in the course of the study of PS by the proposed method, they, as a rule, understand the motor task and can reproduce the tested movements with their conditionally healthy arm. From this it follows that the main cause of these movements impaired copying in tests with closed eyes is proprioceptive deficit.

Proprioceptive accuracy after uni-joint and multi-joint patterns of arm-raising movements directed to overhead targets

Aim To determine the effect of arm-raising pattern on upper limb proprioceptive accuracy for movements made to overhead targets. Materials and methods Sixteen healthy young adults were tested in standing with arms at the sides, made dominant arm-raising movements to an unseen overhead stop, randomly placed at one of five different overhead targets. Movements were made either as a uni-joint shoulder flexion movement in an arc, or as an unconstrained arm raising that was a series of multi-joint movements involving the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Results Overall proprioceptive accuracy for discrimination between the five unseen overhead targets was not different after arm-raising with either a uni-joint or mult-joint pattern (F 1, 15 = 0.50, p = 0.49, partial η 2 = 0.03). Better performers with one pattern also tended to perform well with the other (r = 0.70, p = 0.003). Trend analysis across the 4 pairwise scores for discriminations between the target positions (171.8°–173.6°, 173.6°–175.4°, 175.4°–177.2°, and 177.2°–179.0°) showed worsening discrimination towards the more distant targets (F 1, 15 = 8.44, p = 0.01, partial η 2 = 0.36). However, this linear trend of falling discrimination accuracy was not different between the two movement patterns (p = 0.27). Conclusion Proprioceptive accuracy did not differ between simple uni-joint and more complex multi-joint arm-raising movement patterns, and the further the extent of the overhead target movement, the worse proprioceptive discrimination sensitivity for both movement patterns. Upper limb proprioceptive accuracy was therefore movement extent dependent, but movement pattern independent.

DYNAMIC OF UPPER LIMB SENSORIMOTOR RECOVERY ASSESSED ON THE FUGL-MEYER SCALE IN POST-STROKE PATIENTS WITH NEGLECT SYNDROME RECEIVING COMBINED PHYSICAL THERAPY AND ERGOTHERAPY

The aim: To assess the effect of the modified combined program of physical therapy and ergotherapy on the indicators of upper limb recovery in the patients with the left unilateral neglect. Materials and methods: The study involved 58 patients diagnosed with the right hemisphere stroke followed by neglect syndrome. Patients were randomly divided into main group (MG) and control group (CG) according to the ratio of 1:1. Physical therapy of CG patients included proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), balance training, ergotherapeutic intervention, and exercises improving fine motor skills. Specially developed intervention program of MG patients took into account patient's individual capabilities and needs. It included PNF, balance training and upright posture correction, constraint-induced movement therapy, dual task activities, stimulation of the affected side in daily activities, targeted therapy. The length of intervention comprised 3 months in both groups. Results: According to the results of the primary examination, the groups had no differences in demographic variables, clinical history (NIHSS scale, the Glasgow Coma Scale and Albert's Test) and Fugl-Meyer assessment of upper limb sensorimotor recovery. Statistical analysis of the final scores of the Fugl-Meyer scale confirmed that MG had statistical advantages in all measured items of the motor function domain, as well as in a number of proprioceptive sensitivity indicators. Conclusions: The obtained results confirm better efficacy of the modified program of physical therapy and ergotherapy, received by MG patients.

СИСТЕМА КОНТРОЛЯ ЗАДАННОЙ ПОЗЫ У ЮНЫХ ЕДИНОБОРЦЕВ НА ЭТАПЕ НАЧАЛЬНОЙ СПОРТИВНОЙ ПОДГОТОВКИ

Modern research has proven the relationship between postural control and performance in healthy individuals who regularly engage in physical or athletic activity. Randomized studies on athletes have shown a positive relationship between performance and posture control. Some authors note that regular balance exercises significantly improve postural balance according to the dose-response ratio. At the same time, the description of the relationship between physical activity and postural balance mainly concerns adult athletes, while experimental work on the system of given posture control in primary school-age children, including athletes, is currently insufficient. In our opinion, a detailed study of the system of control of a given posture in children of primary school age, including sportsmen-wrestlers, allows us to evaluate the development of their coordination abilities and can be used later as a predictive criterion of competitive success of these sportsmen. In this connection, the purpose of this study was to study the system of control of a given position in young martial arts at the stage of initial sports training by means of computer stabilometry. In a study of the main stabilizing characteristics in the Romberg sample with open eyes, the examined children engaged in karate registered the smallest values of statokinesiograms length by 26.07 % (p<0.05), area by 64.82 % (p<0.05), and the index of work on ODC movement – by 29.29 % (p<0.05) compared to the control. The data received by us testifies to the fact that the sportsmen who are engaged in karate have the most economical mechanisms to maintain the given posture in comparison with the sportsmen of other groups, as well as those who are not engaged in sports. Such changes in the system of maintaining a given position are due to the fact that at an early stage of the training process in karate, special attention is paid to the development of coordination abilities, improvement of proprioceptive sensitivity and accuracy of position registration. Children engaged in Thai boxing also had lower stability scores than children in the control group: statokinesiogram length by 21.49 % (p<0.05), area by 30.76 % (p>0.05), and ODC movement score by 33.99 % (p<0.05). Probably, such changes are connected with the development of coordination of tayboxers by imitation exercises: elementary and arbitrary (shadow fighting), which are based on the elements of movement, impact and defense techniques. Young athletes engaged in taekwondo did not have reliable differences in computer stabilometry indices in comparison with the test subjects of the control group, which, probably, may be due to the peculiarities of their sports training, in particular, the priority in the development of their speed-force qualities over the control of static stability at the early stage of the training process.

Протезирование конечности

Limb loss is a growing medical-social problem. By 2050, the number of people suffering from this nosology (IDC 10 Z89.3-6) is expected to double. In addition to prostheses, microsurgery development has created a possibility of the limb surgical transplantation, however in 17% of cases it is necessary to carry out recurrent amputation. Limb prosthetics is highly-technological process which follows the achievements of physics, chemistry and mathematics. Today, the most perspective types of limbs prostheses are bionic myoelectric ones. The future of prosthetics looks as follows: invasive electrodes for control, sensitization of limb prosthesis, occurrence of new degrees of freedom, neuronal interfaces. Among the medical problems which expect resolution not as the cases of art of a particular doctor-surgeon, but as a developed technology, one should mention target reversal reinnervation of the injured contact of the afferent nerve, motoric neuron and muscles, fixing of prosthesis to the limb stump, installation of electrodes into the limb, training process of the patients adapting to the limb prosthesis, restoration of proprioceptive sensitivity, elucidation of phantom pain. The details of prosthetics process stated in the present review are encouraging and promise occurrence of even more perfect orthopedic products.

Application of developmental games based on kinesthetic perception to improve proprioceptive sensitivity, intelligence and cooperation in primary school children

Aim: to produce a game learning model based on kinesthetic perception to improve kinesthetic perception, play intelligence, and collaboration among elementary school children. Material and methods. The game learning model based on kinesthetic perception is adapted to the growth and development aspects of students which is packaged through the processing of limbs that is focused on the psychomotor domain consisting of a series of basic locomotor movements, manipulative, non-manipulative, cognitive play intelligence, and effective cooperation. The method used is research and development, namely descriptive, evaluative and experimental methods. This research method is used to produce a product, namely a game learning model based on the kinesthetic perception of children aged 7-8 years which is equivalent to lower grade elementary school students. Development procedures: (1) collecting research results and information, (2) analyzing the product to be developed, (3) developing the initial product, (4) conducting expert validation, (5) conducting small-scale trials and revisions, (6) conducting large-scale trials and revisions, (7) making final products, and (8) conducting effectiveness tests. The subjects of this study were grade 1 elementary school students. The data analysis techniques used were quantitative and qualitative descriptive analysis. The final product effectiveness test used one group pretest-posttest design experiment. Results. The results of this study are in the form of a kinesthetic perception-based game learning model to improve kinesthetic perception, playing intelligence, primary school children's collaboration which contains four games, namely (1) Target Shooting Games, (2) Train Car Games, (3) Flag Games, and ( 4) Rakartugu Games. From the results of the assessment of experts and practitioners, the game learning model based on kinesthetic perception has a validity of 0.963. Conclusions. Kinesthetic perception based game learning model is effective for developing kinesthetic perception limb processing skills, playing intelligence and cooperation.

The state of microcirculation and identification of microcirculatory predictors of chronic pain in younger patients with functional disorders of the masticatory system affected by connective tissue dysplasia

Relevance. Occlusal splints, made for the patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), influence proprioceptive sensitivity, sensory characteristics of pain, parameters of microcirculation of the pulp and periodontium of the healthy teeth. Condition of the pulp and periodontium of the healthy teeth should be assessed in patients with TMD associated with connective tissue dysplasia (CTD).Materials and methods. The study examined 36 TMD patients aged 26.3 ± 1.3 лет (М ± m) with CTD (n = 20, main group) and without CTD (n = 16, control group); with natural teeth, without complaints of TMD, masticatory muscles and periodontal condition. Laser doppler flowmetry (LDF) helped to analyze blood flow parameters in the periodontium and pulp of the healthy teeth. Received results were statistically analyzed.Results. Wavelet analysis revealed different microcirculatory flowmotion: high-amplitude irregular type was in patients of the main group, low-amplitude regular type was in controls. In the main group, perfusion is supported by high values of flux and vasomotion, ergotropic sympathetic effects (controlled by catecholamines) prevail, myogenic tone is reduced, elevated microvascular tone reflects possible changes in rheologic blood properties, microcirculatory signs of pain syndrome and relatively elevated ischemic index in pulp microcirculation of healthy teeth.Conclusion. Sensory and regulatory mechanisms, reflected by the condition of periodontium and pulp blood flow, can be regarded as early signs of inflammation and chronic pain in the diagnosis of TMD in patients without complaints.

Objective Evaluation of Proprioceptive Perception of Single-Joint Arm Movements in Patients with Hemiparesis of Central Genesis

Aim. Objective evaluation of proprioceptive perception of single-joint movements of the paretic arm in patients with unilateral brain damage using the method developed by us. Materials and Methods. Proprioceptive perception of pronation-supination of the forearm, flexion-extension in the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and abduction-adduction in the shoulder and wrist joints was tested in 23 patients with right-sided and 17 patients with left-sided brain damage. The subject with his eyes closed was made to perform a series of passive cyclical test movements, during which he had to copy them with active movements of the other arm. Joint angles were recorded in the test joint and the same joint ofthe other arm. The integrity of proprioceptive sensitivity was judged by the degree of similarity between “active” and “passive” movements estimated by means of objective qualitative and quantitative indicators. Results. Proprioceptive deficiency was detected in 83% of patients with lesion in the right and in 71% of patients with lesion inthe left hemisphere, while the proportion of test movements that revealed a violation of proprioceptive perception was 1.4 times higher in the right-hemisphere patients than in the left-hemisphere patients. A significant part of proprioceptive impairments, – 80% when testing movements of more distal and 29% – proximal segments of the arm, was detected by the presence of qualitative copying errors. Conclusions. The method used made it possible to identify proprioceptive deficits in more than half of patients with damage to both the right and left hemispheres. Proprioceptive perception of movements of the distal arm segment suffered more often and was more pronounced than the proximal one. A significant part of distal segment proprioception disorders manifested themselves in the form of gross qualitative copying errors, which can be detected visually during testing, even without the use of recording equipment.

Study on the Therapeutic Efficacy of a Polyphitho Therapeutic Compound in Primary and Secondary Lymphedema.

The role of the interstitial matrix in regulating exchanges and interactions at the level of the microvascular units, between the corpuscular component and the vascular and nerve structures, has long been known. Equally known are the objective and subjective clinical manifestations that these pathologies trigger in the patient, both in primary and secondary forms: embarrassment, asthenia, alterations of exteroceptive and proprioceptive sensitivity, pain, reduced capacity, and functional autonomy, affecting both the lower and the upper limbs. The authors studied 136 patients with I and II clinical stage lymphedema according to the International Society of Lymphology stadiation. Patients were treated with Lymdiaral, 20 drops three times a day for 90 consecutive days. The following parameters were examined in basal conditions and after treatment: ultrasound measurement of suprafascial thickness, short form healthy survey version 12 (SF12), body mass index, and limb circumferences in specific points of reference. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the therapeutic principle both in the reduction of limb circumferences and in the improvement of the parameters related to the quality of life expressed by the SF12 items. There were no substantial differences in the results between primary and secondary forms.

Effects of Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation on Upper Extremity Proprioceptive Function.

Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve has been shown to enhance cortical plasticity and may benefit upper extremity rehabilitation following stroke. As an initial step towards assessing the potential of other craniocervical nerves as neuromodulation targets during rehabilitation, we explored the ability of non-invasive stimulation of cervical spine afferents, paired with a proprioceptive discrimination task, to improve sensory function in neurologically intact human subjects. On each trial, subjects' arms were moved by a robot from a test position, along a random path, to a judgment position located 1-4 cm away. Subjects responded 'same' if the judgment position was the same as the test or 'different' if it was not. These responses were used to compute proprioceptive sensitivity and bias. Three groups of 20 subjects received transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation to the C3/C4 cervical spine at one of three frequencies (30 Hz, 300 Hz, 3 kHz) for 10 minutes prior to task performance. A fourth group served as a sham. We found a statistically significant interaction between stimulation frequency and displacement distance on proprioceptive sensitivity. In summary, stimulation of cervical spine afferents may enhance arm proprioceptive function, though in unimpaired subjects these gains depend on both stimulation frequency and discrimination distance.Clinical Relevance- This study provides preliminary data on the potential for non-invasive stimulation of cervical spine afferents to enhance recovery of function following stroke and other neurological disorders.

Facial pain, caused by Torkildsen shunt migration

Introduction. The literature showed a limited number of cases of facial pain caused by pathology at the level of the craniovertebral junction, however there is no a single case of pain caused by the migration of elements of the shunt systems.The objective is to describe a clinical case of successful surgical treatment of facial pain caused by the Torkildsen shunt migration.Clinical case. A female patient, 58 years old, applied to the clinic complaining of constant pain with a paroxysmal component in the left part of the face and back of the skull associated with head movements. Other complaints included a headache accompanied by nausea, numbness in the limbs, instability in vertical position, urinary incontinence, abnormal proprioceptive sensitivity in the limbs. Medical history showed that in 2000 the patient underwent Torkildsen procedure (ventriculo-cisternostomy) due to occlusive hydrocephalus after a neurological infection. In 2013, due to shunt dysfunction endoscopic third ventriculostomy was performed with a good clinical effect. Deterioration started in January of 2018. At hospitalization, tomography of the brain showed migration of the distal end of the shunt into spinal matter, syringobulbia at the C1 vertebra level. No signs of neurovascular conflict of the trifacial nerves were observed. Removal of the ventriculo-cisternal shunt irritating the spinal nucleus of the trifacial nerve was performed. In the postoperative period, intensity of the paroxysmal component of facial pain decreased. At day 5 after surgery, the patient was discharged in a satisfactory state. For 1 year and 6 months after the surgery, facial pain has been absent. Manifestations of hydrocephalus and spinal disorder (numbness of the limbs, instability, urinary incontinence) persist, but due to the patient’s compensated state, negative result of the tap-test, signs of functional third ventriculostomy, it was decided to abstain from further interventions.Conclusion. This clinical case demonstrated successful treatment of facial pain developed due to a rare cause – migration of a Torkildsen shunt that currently is rarely encountered.

Somatosensory changes associated with motor skill learning.

Trial-and-error motor adaptation has been linked to somatosensory plasticity and shifts in proprioception (limb position sense). The role of sensory processing in motor skill learning is less understood. Unlike adaptation, skill learning involves the acquisition of new movement patterns in the absence of perturbation, with performance limited by the speed-accuracy trade-off. We investigated somatosensory changes during motor skill learning at the behavioral and neurophysiological levels. Twenty-eight healthy young adults practiced a maze-tracing task, guiding a robotic manipulandum through an irregular two-dimensional track featuring several abrupt turns. Practice occurred on days 1 and 2. Skill was assessed before practice on day 1 and again on day 3, with learning indicated by a shift in the speed-accuracy function between these assessments. Proprioceptive function was quantified with a passive two-alternative forced-choice task. In a subset of 15 participants, we measured short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to index somatosensory projections to motor cortex. We found that motor practice enhanced the speed-accuracy skill function (F4,108 = 32.15, P < 0.001) and was associated with improved proprioceptive sensitivity at retention (t22 = 24.75, P = 0.0031). Furthermore, SAI increased after training (F1,14 = 5.41, P = 0.036). Interestingly, individuals with larger increases in SAI, reflecting enhanced somatosensory afference to motor cortex, demonstrated larger improvements in motor skill learning. These findings suggest that SAI may be an important functional mechanism for some aspect of motor skill learning. Further research is needed to test what parameters (task complexity, practice time, etc.) are specifically linked to somatosensory function.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Somatosensory processing has been implicated in motor adaptation, where performance recovers from a perturbation such as a force field. We investigated somatosensory function during motor skill learning, where a new motor pattern is acquired in the absence of perturbation. After skill practice, we found changes in proprioception and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), signifying somatosensory change at both the behavioral and neurophysiological levels. SAI may be an important functional mechanism by which individuals learn motor skills.

Influence of taping on athletes’ psychomotor possibilities in sprint

Sprint results are more often seen as deliberate practice model (DPM) effects. The performance is limited, as the goal is the same for every competition – to run as fast as possible. This requires a specific skill. The researches confirm that a prerequisite for elite sprinting is an exceptional speed to formal training; this exceptional ability is partially sprint-specific; many elite sprinters achieve the world-class status in less than 10 years, which suggests DPM (Michael, Lombardo, 2014). Introduce the technology of combining special exercises with kinesiotaping as a way to solve the motor task in the sprint - to run fast. In the training, the special exercises were used, the kinesiotaping was applied to enhance psychomotor skills and exacerbate the proprioceptive sensitivity of individual parts of the body. 10 qualified 21-24 year-old men-sprinters having 5-7 years of sprint training practice took part in sociological studies. A sequence of exercises is presented aimed at forming specialized sensations of ‘track feeling’ in a track and field athlete-sprinter with the help of kinesiotaping. The possibility of forming the motor composition of a new skill for implementing the athletes’ sprinting capabilities is revealed. The special exercises and kinesiotaping made it possible to solve motor tasks to form the basic skill of repulsion after giving back a track of any stiffness.

Interaction between proprioceptive sensitivity and the attentional demand for dynamic postural control in sedentary seniors: A pilot study

Introduction Postural instabilities and falls among seniors have been attributed to both a decline in proprioceptive function as well as an inability to efficiently allocate attention to balance in multi-task conditions. This study aims to explore the interaction between proprioceptive sensitivity and attentional demand for dynamic postural control in seniors. Material and methods Old and young sedentary adults performed a postural stability limit task in five experimental conditions that varied the availability of vision and the presence of a secondary attentional task: – attentional task; – postural task with eyes open; – postural task with eyes closed; – postural task with eyes open and secondary attentional task; – postural task with eyes closed and secondary attentional task. Ground reaction force data was collected at 200 Hz using an AMTI force platform and center of foot pressure (COP) was analysed. The functional limits of stability were quantified as the maximum center of pressure excursion during voluntary leaning in each direction. We hypothesized that the greatest age-related differences in performing this stability limit task would seen under the dual-task condition because of limitations in attentional resources available for concurrently coping with high proprioceptive and cognitive demands. Results The findings demonstrate the impact of removing visual-information is more important when older adults are required to perform the attentional task simultaneously with the postural stability limit task. Discussion This suggests that increasing the demand for proprioceptive processing increases the attentional cost of postural control, consistent with a significant interaction between proprioception and attention in the postural control of seniors.

Rehabilitation of patients in late period after spinal cord injury: a meta-analysis of literature data

Material and Methods . The study design is a meta-analysis of publications with levels 1a, b, c, and 2a evidence and a level A recommendations. An electronic search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CrossRef, AO Spine, Eurospine, ResearchGate, eLIBRARY, and MEDLINE databases, and in references of key articles. Inclusion criteria were systematic reviews, randomized controlled studies, multicenter cohort studies with a level 1a, b, c, and 2a evidence and level A recommendations for adult patients with long-term sequelae of spinal cord injury (more than 4 months after injury). Exclusion criteria were topic articles, clinical cases, observations, cohort uncontrolled studies, experimental articles, reports, articles with levels 2b, c, 3a, b, 4, and 5 evidence and level B, C, and D recommendations, pediatric patients, early period after spinal cord injury (less than 4 months), and non-traumatic lesions of the spinal cord. Results . The search returned 108 articles with publication date within 1997–2019. The inclusion criteria was met by 65 publications: 33 systematic reviews, 12 randomized controlled studies, 19 multicenter studies; and one open prospective study was included in the review due to the particular treatment method used. The greatest evidence base for the rehabilitation of patients in the long-term period after spinal cord injury is presented for physical methods of rehabilitation. The most effective are locomotor training to develop skills of movement. Auxiliary verticalization and robotic devices are needed to restore and improve proprioceptive innervation. In case of violation of the spinal tracts, the restoration of motor functions occurs due to the activation of supraspinal interneuronal connections. Epidural electrical stimulation of the lumbar thickening of the spinal cord activates a generator of voluntary movement of the limbs and, in combination with training of proprioceptive sensitivity, leads to a regression of movement disorders. The constant use of electrostimulation blocks proprioceptive sensitivity and inhibits the recovery of spinal conductivity. Parameters of clinical application are not defined for areas of regenerative medicine. Conclusion . The main problem in rehabilitation of patients in late period after spinal cord injury is the lack of a unified concept, developed strategies of rehabilitation technologies, and criteria for assessment of the initial status and treatment efficiency.