Coactivation index of children with congenital upper limb reduction deficiencies before and after using a wrist-driven 3D printed partial hand prosthesis.
Jorge M Zuniga, Katsavelis Dimitrios, Jean L Peck and 6 others
PMID 29884185WHAT IT FOUND
Children with congenital partial hand reductions had higher wrist flexor coactivation on the affected side.
After 6 months using a 3D printed wrist-driven prosthesis, flexor coactivation fell by 70% affected versus 30% non-affected; no clear strength gain was shown.
Key findings
01At baseline, the affected hand showed higher coactivation index during wrist flexion and extension than the non-affected hand.
02After 6 months of prosthesis use, coactivation index during wrist flexion was lower, with a 70% reduction in the affected hand and a 30% reduction in the non-affected hand.
03The before-and-after analysis did not find a significant change in wrist strength.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only nine children were studied, and only five completed the 6-month visit, so the follow-up results are unstable. There was no age-matched control group, so normal development over 6 months cannot be separated from prosthesis use. The children ranged from 6 to 16 years old, so age and development differences are mixed into the results. The prosthesis was used with safety instructions and a progressive schedule, so the study cannot separate the device effect from those supports. The daily use survey was not statistically validated. Strength testing pad placement may have affected some strength values.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Research in Human Movement Variability at the Biomechanics Research Building, and the University of Nebraska Science Collaboration Initiative. The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 70% affected-hand reduction and 30% non-affected-hand reduction as proof the prosthesis improves function. The study had no age-matched control, only five children completed 6 months, no significant interaction was found, and wrist strength did not change significantly.