Bimanual Coordination after Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury. Pilot Study
University of Leeds, Centre for Sport & Exercise Sciences, Amount requested: £39,363, Jan 2012
People who have suffered an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (iSCI) demonstrate difficulties with moving their arms and hands and highlight restoration of arm and hand function as a major priority for research. Clinical evidence shows that bimanual therapy may be more effective than unimanual therapy however to date little research has examined how the two limbs interact during bimanual tasks. Published work shows that one way to overcome the difficulties associated with performing bimanual tasks is to couple the limbs spatially and temporally and that the degree and nature of this is dependent upon task characteristics. This study will examine how individuals with a cervical (C5-C7) incomplete spinal cord injury reach and grasp objects bimanually. Five different experimental tasks will examine the effect of the objects’ distance, height, size, friction, stability on underlying control strategies that will be assessed using a kinematic recording device and surface electromyography.
Considered by the Scientific Committee 12 JUN 2012 ‘..interesting but ambitious..’ and ‘…first aim was enormous ..doubtful if the objectives could be achieved ..’
NOT RECOMMENDED