Movement analysis of uni- and bilateral functional tasks in healthy and neurologically disabled persons: a pilot study

Abstract

Arm dysfunction is a common consequence of neurological conditions and has a major impact on the performance of activities of daily living. Kinematic and kinetic analysis can provide objective information of the deficits these patients have, which can be useful for the development of accurate assessment methods as well as providing guidelines towards therapy. However, most studies have concentrated on the proximal movements of the arms while executing unilateral tasks. In addition, movement analysis of functional tasks in neurologically disabled persons is not well investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the distal movements of both uni- and bilateral functional tasks in healthy and neurologically disabled persons. It was first investigated whether movement analysis can be used to objectively evaluate the upper limb function while executing functional tasks. And second, what are the movement characteristics used to perform functional tasks in different conditions?