Profese Online, 2014 (vol. 7), issue 2

Profese online 2014, 7(2):1-6 | DOI: 10.5507/pol.2014.007

THE UPPER EXTREMITY FUNCTION OF STROKE PATIENTS IN THE VIEW OF SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY

Petra Bastlová, Ivana Barbora Frgalová, Barbora Kolářová, Milan Elfmark, Alois Krobot

Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Background: Movement of a healthy organism is characterized by a high degree of variability performance of a movement task. In a situation of a motor control lesion, mainly due to neurological disease, occurs in varying degrees to a fixed musculoskeletal manifestation. There are manifesting in a limiting responsiveness to changing external or internal conditions during the task oriented physical action.

Objective: To determine differences in muscle activity and variability between a muscle synergy of acral and proximal muscles during reach and grip in healthy subjects and stroke patients.

Methods: The experimental group consisted of 24 probands after ischemic stroke (ictus) with right-sided hemiparesis. The control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects. Muscle activity was recorded using surface electromyography during the performation of selected types of grips of cylindric and spheric objects. The differences in the area under the curve record of individual muscles between the experimental and control group were statistically evaluated using the t-test for independent groups. The relationship between the activity of the muscles of the forearm and shoulder girdle muscles was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient for non-parametric values??.

Results: There were the significant differences in the size and number of statistically significant correlations distal and proximal arm muscles. In stroke group was found significantly lower activity m. pectoralis major and higher activity m. trapezius. At the same time the prevailing high correlation m. pectoralis major and extensor wrist and fingers, unlike the group of healthy subjects, when the correlation distal and proximal muscle groups appeared at random, in a lesser extent and frequency.

Conclusions: The results indicate a reduction in variability of muscle activity during grasp function of stroke patients. To compensate the lack of activity of acral muscles becomes relatively fixed "co-activation" with selected proximal muscles.

Keywords: muscle synergy, stroke, ictus, hand, manipulation, reaching, grasp

Published: October 2014  Show citation