Dexterity after finger pollicization (reconstruction to thumb) is critical to functional outcomes. While most tests of hand function evaluate a combination of strength, coordination, and motor control, the Strength-Dexterity (S-D) paradigm focuses on the dynamic control of fingertip forces. We evaluated 10 pollicized and 5 non-pollicized hands from 8 participants ages 4-17 years (2 female, 6 ma...

OBJECTIVE Thumb problems are common in some health professionals such as physical therapists. The purpose of this case-control study is to investigate the influence of clinical experience and different mobilization techniques on the kinematics of the thumb. METHODS Twenty-three participants without exposure to manual techniques (the Novice Group) and fifteen physical therapists with at least ...

Studies suggest that pain may play a major role in determining cortical rearrangements in the adult human somatosensory system. Most studies, however, have been performed under conditions whereby pain coexists with massive deafferentation (e.g., amputations). Moreover, no information is available on whether spinal and brainstem changes contribute to pain-related reorganizational processes in hu...

1. Myoelectric (ME) activity of several motor units was detected simultaneously from the human flexor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis longus muscles, the only two muscles that control the interphalangeal joint of the thumb. The ME signals were detected while the subjects produced isometric force outputs to track three different paradigms: triangular trajectories, random-force trajectories...

The objective of this work was the comparative analysis of two commercial force sensors, the FSR sensors (Interlink Electronics, Camarillo, CA, US) and the Flexiforce (Tekscan Inc., Boston, MA, US), that can be attached to the palmar surface of the fingers to study the biomechanics of the hand during grasp and to develop rehabilitative devices such as closed-loop controlled hand neuroprosthes...

at?4) Put your thumb in his injured armpit, over the displaced head of the bone, and pass the fingers below and behind the shoulder so as to grasp ,t. rS) Tell the patient to sit down. If for any reason he does not do so, press him down with your other ha?6) When he does so, the weight of his body acts extending force and the bone is found to leave its new place and then can be easily guided wi...

Fingertip forces during simple and static tripod grasp exhibit a surprisingly rich dynamics [1]. Here we explore the hypothesis that, even for this apparently simple manipulation task, these fluctuations are shaped by a neural controller rather than by signal-dependent motor noise. We fed band-limited noise processes scaled to mean force level into a 21-muscle model of 3finger grasp, and compar...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether corticospinal projections from human supplementary motor area (SMA) are functional during precise force control with the precision grip (thumb-index opposition). Since beta band corticomuscular coherence (CMC) is well-accepted to reflect efferent corticospinal transmission, we analyzed the beta band CMC obtained with simultaneous recor...

  Dislocation of the first carpometacarpal (CMC) is a rare occurrence. Treatment of this dislocation varies from closed reduction and casting to ligament repair. Neglected dislocation or incomplete reduction of the 1st CMC cause chronic instability and painful arthritis, muscle imbalance and decreased grip force. In our study 6 patients is evaluated that were visited in less than 24 hours from ...

Ç IN this issue’s “News from the Field” we present the three finalists for the “Best Demo” award at the Eurohaptics conference held in Versailles, France, in June 2014. There were 30 demos displayed at the conference and these three demos were selected as finalists by the Awards Committee. The winner of the “Best Demo” award was “Distinct pseudo-attraction force sensation by a thumb-sized vibra...