HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Halaney, M. E Articles by Carey, J. R Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Halaney, M. E Articles by Carey, J. R Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Tracking Ability of Hemiparetic and Healthy Subjects

M Halaney, MS, PT, is Instructor, School of Physical Therapy, Texas Woman's University, 1130 MD Anderson Blvd, Houston, TX 77030. She was a student, Program in Physical Therapy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, when this study was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for her master's degree.
J Carey, PhD, is Assistant Director and Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy Program, Mayo Clinic, 108 Guggenheim Bldg, Rochester, MN 55905. He was Instructor, Program in Physical Therapy, University of Minnesota, PO Box 388 UMHC, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, when this study was conducted.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate differences in tracking ability between the involved and uninvolved hands of hemiparetic (n = 10) and healthy (n = 10) subjects. The subjects tracked a sine-wave target pattern by flexing and extending their index finger metacarpophalangeal joints. The amplitudes of the target patterns were proportional to each subject's active range of motion. The root-mean-square (RMS) of the vertical distance between the target and response lines was expressed as a percentage of the RMS of the target pattern and subtracted from 100 to give an index of each subject's accuracy. The authors used t tests to compare the uninvolved and involved hands of the hemiparetic subjects (p > .05), the dominant and nondominant hands of the healthy subjects (p > .05), and the uninvolved hands of the hemiparetic subjects with the dominant hands of the healthy subjects (p < .005). This study indicates that within the available active ROM, finger tracking ability is impaired bilaterally in hemiparetic subjects. The implication for physical therapists is that treatment strategies for improving motor control should be directed bilaterally.

Key Words: Hand • Hemiplegia, evaluation • Motor skills • Psychomotor performance • Tests and measurements, functional

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. S. Knutson, T. Z. Hisel, M. Y. Harley, and J. Chae A Novel Functional Electrical Stimulation Treatment for Recovery of Hand Function in Hemiplegia: 12-Week Pilot Study Neurorehabil Neural Repair, January 1, 2009; 23(1): 17 - 25. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Turk, S. V. Notley, R. M. Pickering, D. M. Simpson, P. A. Wright, and J. H. Burridge Reliability and Sensitivity of a Wrist Rig to Measure Motor Control and Spasticity in Poststroke Hemiplegia Neurorehabil Neural Repair, November 1, 2008; 22(6): 684 - 696. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. Laufer, L. Gattenio, E. Parnas, D. Sinai, Y. Sorek, and R. Dickstein Time-Related Changes in Motor Performance of the Upper Extremity Ipsilateral to the Side of the Lesion in Stroke Survivors Neurorehabil Neural Repair, September 1, 2001; 15(3): 167 - 172. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Ada, C. Canning, and T. Dwyer Effect of muscle length on strength and dexterity after stroke Clinical Rehabilitation, January 1, 2000; 14(1): 55 - 61. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Yaretzky, S. Raviv, T. Jacob, Y. Netz, M. Low, and B. Finkeltov Ipsilateral upper and lower extremity response time among stroke patients Clinical Rehabilitation, November 1, 1994; 8(4): 293 - 300. [Abstract] [PDF]