Are tactile function and body awareness of the foot related to motor outcomes in children with upper motor neuron lesions?
Petra Marsico, Lea Meier, Marietta L van der Linden and 2 others
PMID 38496778WHAT IT FOUND
Assessing how well children with upper motor neuron lesions can locate touch on a foot diagram, rather than on their own foot, correlated with their walking ability and motor control.
Simple touch threshold tests did not relate to motor outcomes.
Key findings
01The ability to locate touch on a foot illustration (structural body representation) correlated moderately with selective motor control, gait capacity, and daily mobility scores.
02Tactile threshold (the lightest touch felt) showed no relationship with any of the four lower limb motor outcomes tested.
03In the subgroup with cerebral palsy, the ability to locate touch on an illustration correlated significantly with GMFCS level, indicating a link between structural body awareness and overall motor classification.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (n=35), and the group included mixed diagnoses (cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury, congenital ataxia), which may mask specific relationships. Five children with severe motor limitations (GMFCS IV-V) could not perform the body-localisation test, potentially biasing the results for that specific task. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine whether impaired body awareness causes motor problems or is a result of them. Only the foot sole was assessed; body awareness in other lower limb regions was not tested.
Declared interests
The authors declare financial support from the Anna Müller Grocholski foundation, Zurich, Switzerland.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the correlation between structural body awareness and motor function as evidence that training body awareness will improve motor outcomes. The study is cross-sectional and only shows an association, not causation.