Learning to use a body-powered prosthesis: changes in functionality and kinematics.
Laura H B Huinink, Hanneke Bouwsema, Dick H Plettenburg and 2 others
PMID 27716254WHAT IT FOUND
Functional daily-task scores improved with repeated testing in all groups, including controls, but training transfer was weak.
Indirect grasping practice reached objects faster and used the least grip force among training groups.
Key findings
01All groups, including the control group, improved SHAP functionality scores from pretest to posttest and retention tests.
02The indirect grasping group had shorter reach times than the direct grasping group and produced the least grasping force among training groups.
03Over training sessions, reach time and hook closing time decreased and peak closing velocity increased, but object compression did not change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study used able-bodied participants wearing a prosthetic simulator, not people with upper-limb amputation. Only right-handed participants were included, so the findings may not apply to left-handed users. The control group improved on the SHAP over repeated testing, so some functional gains may reflect practice with the test rather than the training. Transfer from basic task training to ADL test performance was weak. The simulator used a voluntary closing TRS hook, so other body-powered terminal devices may behave differently. The paper does not report dropouts or withdrawals, so follow-up completeness is unclear.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the functional score increases as proof that basic-task training caused ADL improvement in amputees. The control group improved too over repeated testing, and the study used able-bodied simulator users.