Associations between Sensory of Fingertips and Hand Function in Individuals Post Stroke

Abstract

Introduction:Stroke is one of the major causes of death and disability worldwide. Sensory and motor abilities are significant contributors to ADL limitations as a consequence of stroke. The best somatosensory receptor area of the skin is the fingertip area because it has a high density of neurons. Two Point Discrimination (2PD) assesses participants' fingertips' ability, where the sensory aspect can support people's motor performance. This study investigated the association between hand sensory with 2PD, hand motorwith grip strength, and hand function with FMA (UE-Hand). Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Stroke individuals with a chronic phase at least three months after stroke and no more than one year after stroke onset were recruited. All subjects had a normal peripheral nerve function with no previous injury orcompression syndrome.Results:Forty-two participants aged 40-79 (64.0% of the males and only two left-handed dominants) participated in the study post stroke. All participants had a single stroke attack (57.0% left-sided brain lesion), with 43.0% having a diabetic history, and 69.0% of participants having a normal body mass index (BMI). The FMA had a high positive correlation with the grip strength test. Both assessments of the 2PD test had a negligible correlation with FMA and grip strength. 2PD was better than static 2PD.Conclusion:Findings highlight a strong correlation between grip strength and FMA-UE hand, but there is no correlation between 2PD and grip strength, or between 2PD and FMA-UE hand in stroke patients. It may help guide health professionals, especially physiotherapists, during rehabilitation, focusing on hand motor function. Further research may focus on the clinical assessment of hand sensory, which can be used as the gold standard to evaluate the progression and correlation with other assessments.