Microbiology laboratories use containment equipment such as safety cabinets and isolators or respiratory protective equipment to protect workers against aerosol infection hazards. There is a perception amongst microbiologists that using sharps within containment equipment would increase the operator’s chance of accidental injury due to losses of dexterity within containment and so respiratory p...

The purpose of this study was to investigate gross and fine motor skill in overweight and obese children compared with normal-weight peers. According to international cut-off points for Body Mass Index (BMI) from Cole et al. (2000), all 117 participants (5-10 year) were classified as being normal-weight, overweight, or obese. Level of motor skill was assessed using the Movement Assessment Batte...

This study was done to evaluate differences in pressure pain threshold, grip strength, manual dexterity and touch pressure threshold in the dominant and non-dominant hands of right- and left-handed subjects, and to compare findings within and between these groups. Thirty-nine right-handed and twenty-one left-handed subjects participated in the study. Pressure pain threshold was assessed using a...

Manual dexterity, a prerogative of primates, is under the control of the corticospinal (CS) tract. Because 90-95% of CS axons decussate, it is assumed that this control is exerted essentially on the contralateral hand. Consistently, unilateral lesion of the hand representation in the motor cortex is followed by a complete loss of dexterity of the contralesional hand. During the months following...

BACKGROUND Mental practice (MP) is a cognitive strategy which may improve the acquisition of motor skills and functional performance of athletes and individuals with neurological injuries. OBJECTIVE To determine whether an individualized, specific functional task-oriented MP, when added to conventional physical therapy (PT), promoted better learning of motor skills in daily functions in indiv...

BACKGROUND Despite that disability of the upper extremity is common after stroke, there is limited knowledge how it influences self-perceived ability to perform daily hand activities. The aim of this study was to describe which daily hand activities that persons with mild to moderate impairments of the upper extremity after stroke perceive difficult to perform and to evaluate how several potent...