| Summary: | The analysis of lower limb movements has been well established in
biomechanics research and clinical applications for a long time. For these studies,
powerful and very advanced tools have been developed to measure movement
parameters and reaction forces. The main focus of interest aims towards gait
movements while the understanding of the basic concepts is supported by numerous
models. Definitions of physiological ranges and detection of pathological changes in
movements open an increasingly valuable clinical field of application. If, however,
the primary function of the upper extremities as highly variable and adaptive organ
for manipulating tasks is the subject of interest, the situation becomes considerably
more complex. The nature of free arm movements is completely different from being
restricted, repeatable or cyclic as compared to gait. Therefore, the transfer of the
knowledge and experience gained in lower extremity movement analysis to the
analysis of upper extremities turns out to be difficult. A proposal for how to proceed
in measurements, e.g. where to place the markers and how to calculate movements
and angles of segments involved, will be discussed which results in the description of
the joint movements of wrist, elbow and shoulder joint. The definition of the motion
is a specific step in upper extremity motion analysis which is important in terms of
repeatability and significance of the results. An example of assessing movement
disorders in children with plexus lesion will illustrate the implications and the
potential of upper extremity movement analysis in clinical applications.
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