The impact of stroke on the performance of grasping: usefulness of kinetic and kinematic motion analysis.

Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the adult worldwide. The most common neurological impairment following stroke is weakness or loss of sensibility of the extremities contralateral to the side of the brain lesion. Loss of sensory and/or motor function of the hand affects up to 60% of stroke survivors and constitutes a major problem for these individuals. Within recent years, progress in technology has provided several useful objective measures to quantify the impairments of both the kinetics and kinematics of grasping following stroke. This review summarizes current knowledge on the cortical correlates of grasping and gives an overview on the application of motion analysis to quantify the degree of disability, monitor recovery and evaluate modern treatment strategies to improve impaired hand function after stroke.