Importance of Wrist Movement Direction in Performing Activities of Daily Living Efficiently
Nicholas Moser, Marcia K. O’Malley, Andrew Erwin
Abstract
The wrist is an essential component in performing the activities of daily living (ADLs) associated with a high quality of life. After a neurological disorder, motor function of the hand and wrist can be affected, reducing quality of life. Many experiments have illustrated that more wrist flexion/extension is required than radial/ulnar deviation when performing ADLs; however, how this result translates to efficiency in performing ADLs has not been investigated. Motivated by clinical assessment during neurorehabilitation, in this paper we investigate with able-bodied participants how performing tasks representative of the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test are impacted when a splint constrains the user to a single rotational degree of freedom of the wrist. Twenty participants enrolled in the study, performing five tasks under five conditions, including constraint to pure flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation. The importance of wrist movement direction in performing ADLs efficiently found in this study could shape clinical wrist rehabilitation paradigms and wrist rehabilitation robot designs.