Author/Authors :
Omori, Masao Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan , Shibuya, Satoshi Department of Integrative Physiology - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan , Nakajima, Tsuyoshi Department of Integrative Physiology - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan , Endoh, Takashi Faculty of Human Development and Education - Uekusa Gakuen University - Wakaba-ku, Chiba, Japan , Suzuki, Shinya Department of Physical Therapy - School of Rehabilitation - Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Japan , Irie, Shun Department of Integrative Physiology - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan , Ariyasu, Ryohei Department of Integrative Physiology - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan , Unenaka, Satoshi Department of Sports Education - School of Lifelong Sport - Hokusho University, Hokkaido, Japan , Sano, Hideto Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan , Igarashi, Kazutaka Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan , Ichimura, Shoichi Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan , Ohki, Yukari Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan
Abstract :
Cervical myelopathy (CM) caused by spinal cord compression can lead to reduced hand dexterity. However, except for the 10 sec grip-and-release test, there is no objective assessment system for hand dexterity in patients with CM. Therefore, we evaluated the hand dexterity impairment of patients with CM objectively by asking them to perform a natural prehension movement. Twenty-three patients with CM and 30 age-matched controls were asked to reach for and grasp a small object with their right thumb and index finger and to subsequently lift and hold it. To examine the effects of tactile afferents from the fingers, objects with surface materials of differing textures (silk, suede, and sandpaper) were used. All patients also underwent the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) test. Preoperative patients showed significantly greater grip aperture during reach-to-grasp movements and weaker grip force than controls only while attempting to lift the most slippery object (silk). Patients, immediately after surgery, (n = 15) tended to show improvements in the JOA score and in reaction time and movement time with respect to reaching movements. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that some parameters of the prehension task could successfully predict subjective evaluations of dexterous hand movements based on JOA scores. These results suggest that quantitative assessments using prehension movements could be useful to objectively evaluate hand dexterity impairment in patients with CM.
Keywords :
Hand Dexterity Impairment , Cervical Myelopathy , Quantitative Assessment , Natural Prehension Movement
