Hui-Ing Ma1, Wen-Juh Hwang, Mei-Jin Chen-Sea, Ching-Fan Sheu. 1. Department of Occupational Therapy and Institute of Allied Health Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. huingma@mail.ncku.edu.tw
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of spoon-handle size on kinematic performance in people with Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: A counterbalanced repeated-measures design. SETTING: A motor control laboratory in a university setting. SUBJECTS: Eighteen individuals with Parkinson's disease and 18 age-matched controls. EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS: Each participant was instructed to scoop water (simulated soup) using spoons with three different-sized handles. MAIN MEASURES: Kinematic variables (movement time, peak velocity and number of movement units) of arm movement, size of hand aperture and number of fingers to grasp the spoon. RESULTS: The movement of the participants with Parkinson's disease was faster (shorter movement time) and smoother (fewer movement units) when they used spoons with a small- or medium-sized handle than when using a spoon with a large-sized handle. In contrast, the healthy controls showed no significant differences in movement kinematics between handle sizes. Moreover, the participants with Parkinson's disease had a significantly smaller hand aperture and used more fingers to hold the spoons than the controls did. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that, for people with Parkinson's disease, a small-to-medium-sized handle is more suitable than a large-sized built-up handle.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of spoon-handle size on kinematic performance in people with Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: A counterbalanced repeated-measures design. SETTING: A motor control laboratory in a university setting. SUBJECTS: Eighteen individuals with Parkinson's disease and 18 age-matched controls. EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS: Each participant was instructed to scoop water (simulated soup) using spoons with three different-sized handles. MAIN MEASURES: Kinematic variables (movement time, peak velocity and number of movement units) of arm movement, size of hand aperture and number of fingers to grasp the spoon. RESULTS: The movement of the participants with Parkinson's disease was faster (shorter movement time) and smoother (fewer movement units) when they used spoons with a small- or medium-sized handle than when using a spoon with a large-sized handle. In contrast, the healthy controls showed no significant differences in movement kinematics between handle sizes. Moreover, the participants with Parkinson's disease had a significantly smaller hand aperture and used more fingers to hold the spoons than the controls did. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that, for people with Parkinson's disease, a small-to-medium-sized handle is more suitable than a large-sized built-up handle.