Arm activity i n everyday life after stroke: measu rement using modified automatic-wind wrist watches ('actometers')

Abstract

This study investigates the validity of actometers as a method of monitoring arm movement in everyday life after stroke. Ten stroke patients with impaired arm function and 10 normal people of similar age wore actometers on each wrist for up to 10 hours on two separate days. The actometers successfully detected reduced average activity of the affected arm after stroke. They also gave higher average readings for the dominant arm of normal subjects when compared to the nondominant side. However, there were suggestions of limits to the validity of the actometers: not every stroke patient or normal subject produced the expected results; test-retest reliability was only moderate; and stroke patients showed only a weak relationship between actometer readings and performance on arm function tests. The low cost and unobtrusiveness of actometers means that despite limitations on their validity, actometers may be a valuable tool in rehabilitation therapy.