Change in the Results of Motor Coordination and Handgrip Strength Depending on Age and Body Position—An Observational Study of Stroke Patients and Healthy Volunteers

Anna Olczak, Aleksandra Truszczyńska-Baszak and Józef Mróz
Additional contact information
Anna Olczak: Military Institute of Medicine, Rehabilitation Clinic, 128 Szaserów Street, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland
Aleksandra Truszczyńska-Baszak: Faculty of Rehabilitation, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, 00-968 Warsaw, Poland
Józef Mróz: Military Institute of Medicine, Rehabilitation Clinic, 128 Szaserów Street, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Objective: The stroke is considered a common disease of the elderly. Young people also get sick, but the risk of stroke increases with the age of 60. Stroke, regardless of the age of the patients, causes functional deficits; therefore, the aim of the study was to analyze the significance of the body position and examined upper limb on the parameters of motor coordination and handgrip strength in various age groups of people after stroke and healthy people. Material and method: This is an observational study. A total of 117 people participated in the study (60 stroke patients and 57 healthy people without neurological disorders). Both patients and healthy volunteers were prospectively divided into three age groups: 18–45, 46–60, and 61+. The tests were carried out in two starting positions: sitting without back support and lying on the back with the upper limb stabilized against the body. HandTutor TM and a hand dynamometer were used to assess the motor coordination, including the maximum range of motion and frequency of movement, as well as the grip strength. Results: The passive stabilization of the trunk and shoulder improved the maximum wrist ROM ( p < 0.001) and frequency of finger movements (Hz F5 p = 0.018; F3 p = 0.010; F2 p = 0.011), especially in the oldest stroke patients. In the group of healthy volunteers, the most statistically significant results were obtained in the age range of 46–60. They occurred in both stable (wrist maxROM p = 0.041 and Hz F5 p = 0.034; Hz F4 p = 0.010; Hz F3 p = 0.028; Hz F1 p = 0.034, maxROM F1 p = 0.041) and unstable positions (maxROM F5 p = 0.034; maxROM F4 p = 0.050; maxROM F3 p = 0.002; maxROM F2 p = 0.002). In the group of the oldest healthy people, only one significant result was obtained in the stable position (Hz F3 p = 0.043). Conclusion: Passive stabilization of the trunk and examined upper limb improves the results of motor coordination of the distal part of the upper limb in both study groups. Passive stabilization of the trunk and upper limb improves motor coordination, especially in the oldest group of patients, after stroke.

Keywords: stroke; older people; age ranges; grip strength; motor coordination; stabilization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4703/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4703/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:8:p:4703-:d:793130

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().