Dexterity Training Improves Manual Precision in Patients Affected by Essential Tremor

Budini, Francesco; Lowery, Madeleine M.; Hutchinson, Michael; Bradley, David; Conroy, Luke; Vito, Giuseppe De

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2013.11.002

Cited by 21 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…47 There are a few studies on the effects of exercise (occupational therapy) in improving upper limb function in ET. 48,49,50 These studies implemented resistance training 49,50 or manual dexterity training 48 but did not examine balance and gait. Given the prevalence of balance and gait impairments in ET, and given their effect on functional limitations, exercise (physical and occupational therapy) intervention studies are needed.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ataxic Gait in Essential Tremor: A Disease-Associated Feature?

Rao

Louis²

2019

Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements

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BackgroundWhile accumulating evidence suggests that balance and gait impairments are commonly seen in patients with essential tremor (ET), questions remain regarding their prevalence, their relationship with normal aging, whether they are similar to the impairments seen in spinocerebellar ataxias, their functional consequences, and whether some ET patients carry greater susceptibility.MethodsWe conducted a literature search (until December 2018) on this topic.ResultsWe identified 23 articles on gait or balance impairments in ET. The prevalence of balance impairment (missteps on tandem walk test) was seven times higher in ET patients than controls. Gait impairments in ET included reduced speed, increased asymmetry, and impaired dynamic balance. While balance and gait problems worsened with age, ET patients were more impaired than controls, independent of age. The pattern of impairments seen in ET was qualitatively similar to that seen in spinocerebellar ataxias. Balance and gait impairments resulted in greater number of near falls in ET patients. Factors associated with balance and gait impairments in ET included age, presence of tremor in midline structures, and cognitive dysfunction.DiscussionAccumulating evidence suggests that balance and gait impairments are common in ET patients and occur to a greater extent in controls. Thus, they represent a disease-associated feature. These impairments, which are qualitatively similar to those seen in spinocerebellar ataxias, are not merely subclinical but result in difficulty performing functional tasks and increase falls risk. A subset of patients is more susceptible to balance and gait impairments. The full spectrum of impairments remains to be characterized.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ataxic Gait in Essential Tremor: A Disease-Associated Feature?

Rao

Louis²

2019

Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements

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“…Given that ET tremor-related dependent variables are typically skewed (Elble et al, 2006;Heroux, Pari & Norman, 2009;Budini et al, 2014), and there may be responders and nonresponders to stimuli in short-term RT intervention studies (Sequeira, Keogh et al, 2012), improvements (or declines) due to the 6-week RT program were determined with Wilcoxon sign-ranked tests. These tests examined the change in pre-and post-RT data, and determined if 5RM, functional assessments, and force tremor assessments, significantly improved due to RT.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although it was out of the scope of this study, future research should explore the interaction between ET medications and dose-response characteristics to exercise-related therapy, and determine what combinations of exercises (e.g. dexterity training (Budini, Lowery et al, 2014) and/or RT) provide the greatest benefits to individuals with ET.…”

Section: Rt As a Therapy For Essential Tremormentioning

confidence: 99%

Resistance Training Reduces Force Tremor and Improves Manual Dexterity in Older Individuals With Essential Tremor

Kavanagh¹,

Wedderburn-Bisshop²,

Keogh³

2015

Journal of Motor Behavior

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Although symptoms of Essential Tremor (ET) are typically controlled with medication, it is of interest to explore additional therapies to assist with functionality. The purpose of this study was to determine if a generalized upper limb resistance training (RT) program improves manual dexterity and reduces force tremor in older individuals with ET. Ten Essential Tremor and 9 controls were recruited into a dual group, pretest-posttest intervention study. Participants performed 6 weeks of upper-limb RT, and battery of manual dexterity and isometric force tremor assessments were performed before and after the RT to determine the benefits of the program. The six-week, high-load, RT program produced strength increases in each limb for the ET and healthy older group. These changes in strength aligned with improvements in manual dexterity and tremor-most notably for the ET group. The least affected limb and the most affected limb exhibited similar improvements in functional assessments of manual dexterity, whereas reductions in force tremor amplitude following the RT program were restricted to the most affected limb of the ET group. These findings suggest that generalized upper limb RT program has the potential to improve aspects of manual dexterity and reduce force tremor in older ET patients.

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“…In this way, an electrical buzz wire (EBW) was built as an attractive therapeutic tool. Some authors have demonstrated the use of EBW to assess children's facial expression during errors [8], manual dexterity training [9], and attentional and neuropsychiatric deficits [10], but none investigated the accuracy and precision during eye-hand coordination and object control skill assessment in children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and application of an electrical buzz wire to evaluate eye-hand coordination and object control skill in children: a feasibility study

Luvizutto¹,

Bruno²,

Oliveira³

et al. 2021

Hum Mov.

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Purpose. There are many instruments to test children's motor coordination, but the problem is that none of them evaluates accuracy and precision during motor tasks. Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop and test the applicability of electrical buzz wire (EBW) as an instrument for assessing eye-hand coordination and object control skill in children, as well as to delimit the mean time and errors in tasks involving speed and/or accuracy. Methods. The cross-sectional study involved 66 children (28 boys and 38 girls) aged 7-12 years. The variables evaluated were anthropometrics, hand dominance, and Movement Assessment Battery for children (MABc-2). The outcomes were time (s) and error (n) during 4 tasks while changing speed and wire loop size. Results. The ANOVA analysis showed statistically significant differences in the time variable [F(4, 502) = 8.6155, p < 0.001] and in the error [F(6, 502) = 69.209, p < 0.001]. The mean values of time and errors in each task were standardized after linear regression: 2.38 errors and 37 seconds in task 1; 3.2 errors and 35 seconds in task 2; 6.4 errors and 24 seconds in task 3; and 6.4 errors and 23.1 seconds in task 4. The error and time variables in EBW presented weak negative correlations with all MABc-2 domains. Conclusions. EBW was developed; the time and errors with a comfortable speed were lower than with a high speed, regardless of the difficulty level. Time and error values were also standardized in this age group.

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Dexterity Training Improves Manual Precision in Patients Affected by Essential Tremor

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Ataxic Gait in Essential Tremor: A Disease-Associated Feature?

Ataxic Gait in Essential Tremor: A Disease-Associated Feature?

Resistance Training Reduces Force Tremor and Improves Manual Dexterity in Older Individuals With Essential Tremor

Development and application of an electrical buzz wire to evaluate eye-hand coordination and object control skill in children: a feasibility study

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