Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests
Objective/Background: Occupational therapists usually assess hand function through standardised tests, however, there is no consensus on how the scores assigned to hand dexterity can accurately measure hand function required for daily activities and few studies evaluate the movement patterns of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569186116300110 |
| _version_ | 1828273261035651072 |
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| author | Natália Sanches Silva Pedro Henrique Tavares Queiroz de Almeida Paulo Vinícius Braga Mendes Caio Sadao Medeiros Komino José Marques Novo Jùnior Daniel Marinho Cezar Da Cruz |
| author_facet | Natália Sanches Silva Pedro Henrique Tavares Queiroz de Almeida Paulo Vinícius Braga Mendes Caio Sadao Medeiros Komino José Marques Novo Jùnior Daniel Marinho Cezar Da Cruz |
| author_sort | Natália Sanches Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective/Background: Occupational therapists usually assess hand function through standardised tests, however, there is no consensus on how the scores assigned to hand dexterity can accurately measure hand function required for daily activities and few studies evaluate the movement patterns of the upper limbs during hand function tests. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in muscle activation patterns during the performance of three hand dexterity tests.
Methods: Twenty university students underwent a surface electromyographic (sEMG) assessment of eight upper limb muscles during the performance of the box and blocks test (BBT), nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and functional dexterity test (FDT). The description and comparison of each muscle activity during the test performance, gender differences, and the correlation between individual muscles' sEMG activity were analysed through appropriate statistics.
Results: Increased activity of proximal muscles was found during the performance of BBT (p < .001). While a higher activation of the distal muscles occurred during the FDT and 9HPT performance, no differences were found between them. Comparisons of the sEMG activity revealed a significant increase in the muscle activation among women (p = .05). Strong and positive correlations (r > .5; p < .05) were observed between proximal and distal sEMG activities, suggesting a coordinate pattern of muscle activation during hand function tests.
Conclusion: The results suggested the existence of differences in the muscle activation pattern during the performance of hand function evaluations. Occupational therapists should be aware of unique muscle requirements and its impact on the results of dexterity tests during hand function evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:18:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a11c46b432f4784a3cf19b3f67b4a29 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1569-1861 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:18:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a11c46b432f4784a3cf19b3f67b4a292022-12-22T02:58:45ZengSAGE PublishingHong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy1569-18612017-06-0129C101810.1016/j.hkjot.2016.11.003Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function TestsNatália Sanches Silva0Pedro Henrique Tavares Queiroz de Almeida1Paulo Vinícius Braga Mendes2Caio Sadao Medeiros Komino3José Marques Novo Jùnior4Daniel Marinho Cezar Da Cruz5Department of Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos - UFSCar, Sao Carlos, State of Sao Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Universidade of Brazilia - UnB, Brazilia, State of Distrito Federal, BrazilDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos - UFSCar, Sao Carlos, State of Sao Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Bioengineering, Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Sao Carlos, State of Sao Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Bioengineering, Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Sao Carlos, State of Sao Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos - UFSCar, Sao Carlos, State of Sao Paulo, BrazilObjective/Background: Occupational therapists usually assess hand function through standardised tests, however, there is no consensus on how the scores assigned to hand dexterity can accurately measure hand function required for daily activities and few studies evaluate the movement patterns of the upper limbs during hand function tests. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in muscle activation patterns during the performance of three hand dexterity tests. Methods: Twenty university students underwent a surface electromyographic (sEMG) assessment of eight upper limb muscles during the performance of the box and blocks test (BBT), nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and functional dexterity test (FDT). The description and comparison of each muscle activity during the test performance, gender differences, and the correlation between individual muscles' sEMG activity were analysed through appropriate statistics. Results: Increased activity of proximal muscles was found during the performance of BBT (p < .001). While a higher activation of the distal muscles occurred during the FDT and 9HPT performance, no differences were found between them. Comparisons of the sEMG activity revealed a significant increase in the muscle activation among women (p = .05). Strong and positive correlations (r > .5; p < .05) were observed between proximal and distal sEMG activities, suggesting a coordinate pattern of muscle activation during hand function tests. Conclusion: The results suggested the existence of differences in the muscle activation pattern during the performance of hand function evaluations. Occupational therapists should be aware of unique muscle requirements and its impact on the results of dexterity tests during hand function evaluation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569186116300110surface electromyographyfunctional assessmentoccupational therapystandardised hand function testsupper limbs |
| spellingShingle | Natália Sanches Silva Pedro Henrique Tavares Queiroz de Almeida Paulo Vinícius Braga Mendes Caio Sadao Medeiros Komino José Marques Novo Jùnior Daniel Marinho Cezar Da Cruz Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy surface electromyography functional assessment occupational therapy standardised hand function tests upper limbs |
| title | Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests |
| title_full | Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests |
| title_fullStr | Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests |
| title_short | Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests |
| title_sort | electromyographic activity of the upper limb in three hand function tests |
| topic | surface electromyography functional assessment occupational therapy standardised hand function tests upper limbs |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569186116300110 |
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