Influence of the flexor digitorum superficialis tendon transfer on grip strength

The flexor digitorum superficialis tendon of the ring finger can be transferred to the thumb flexor. We followed ten patients after such a transfer for 5-128 months and measured grip strength and force transmission of the fingers and individual phalanges while the patients gripped 10-cm or 20-cm diameter cylinders. The grip strength of the middle, ring and little fingers was reduced when gripping the 10-cm cylinder, with a significantly larger decrease in the ring finger. With the 20-cm cylinder, grip forces of all fingers were almost identical, with slightly lower force of the ring finger and slightly higher forces in the index and small fingers. We conclude that after transfer of flexor digitorum superficialis tendon from a ring finger, grip strength of the ring finger is reduced. Finger forces are more hampered while gripping objects with smaller circumferences than large ones.

Systematic, Unintended Drifts in the Cyclic Force Produced with the Fingertips

Cyclic isometric finger-force patterns established using visual feedback show systematic drifts when the feedback is removed. Force changes at multiple time scales and in opposite directions have been reported. For further characterization of these drifts, healthy subjects produced isometric, cyclic finger force with and without visual feedback at various initial amplitudes and frequencies. We hypothesized that on feedback removal, the amplitude will be attracted toward a preferred value that is frequency dependent. We found that the amplitude always increased after feedback removal. The magnitude of the amplitude increase changed with initial frequency, but it was invariant over the explored range of initial amplitudes. Thus, the existence of a preferred amplitude of force oscillations was not supported. We interpret these results within the referent configuration and the referent configuration back-coupling hypotheses. These data will inform a mathematical model of finger-force drifts. However, currently, they raise more questions than they answer, and a coherent account of finger-force drifts remains a challenge.

Synergies in the space of control variables within the equilibrium-point hypothesis

We use an approach rooted in the recent theory of synergies to analyze possible co-variation between two hypothetical control variables involved in finger force production based on the equilibrium-point (EP) hypothesis. These control variables are the referent coordinate (R) and apparent stiffness (C) of the finger. We tested a hypothesis that inter-trial co-variation in the {R; C} space during repeated, accurate force production trials stabilizes the fingertip force. This was expected to correspond to a relatively low amount of inter-trial variability affecting force and a high amount of variability keeping the force unchanged. We used the "inverse piano" apparatus to apply small and smooth positional perturbations to fingers during force production tasks. Across trials, R and C showed strong co-variation with the data points lying close to a hyperbolic curve. Hyperbolic regressions accounted for over 99% of the variance in the {R; C} space. Another analysis was conducted by randomizing the original {R; C} data sets and creating surrogate data sets that were then used to compute predicted force values. The surrogate sets always showed much higher force variance compared to the actual data, thus reinforcing the conclusion that finger force control was organized in the {R; C} space, as predicted by the EP hypothesis, and involved co-variation in that space stabilizing total force.

The Effects of Age, Gender, and Hand on Force Control Capabilities of Healthy Adults

OBJECTIVE

The present study examined the effects of age (20s to 70s), gender (male and female), and hand (dominant and nondominant) on force control capabilities (FCCs) in four force control phases (initiation, development, maintenance, and termination).

BACKGROUND

Normative data of FCCs by force control phase are needed for various populations in age and gender to identify a type of motor performance reduction and its severity.

METHOD

FCCs of 360 participants (30 for each combination of age group and gender) were measured using a finger dynamometer and quantified in terms of initiation time (IT), development time (DT), maintenance error (ME), and termination time (TT).

RESULTS

Although gradual increases (1%~28%) by age were shown in IT, DT, and TT, a dramatic increase in ME was observed among participants in their 50s (26%), 60s (68%), and 70s (160%) compared to those in their 20s~40s. The most distinctive interaction effect of age and gender was found in ME out of the four FCC measures. Lastly, hand and its related interactions were not found significant.

CONCLUSION

Normative FCC data were established for four age groups (20s~40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s) and gender.

APPLICATION

The normative FCC data can be used for evaluating an individual's motor performance, screening patients with brain disorders, and designing input devices triggered and/or operated by the finger.

The relationship between hand anthropometrics, total grip strength and individual finger force for various handle shapes

The design and shape of hand tool handles are critical factors for preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by the use of hand tools. We explored how these factors are related to total force and individual finger force in males and females with various hand anthropometrics. Using the MFFM system, we assessed four indices of anthropometry, and measured total force and individual finger force on various handle designs and shapes. Both total force and individual finger force were significant according to gender and handle shape. Total grip strength to the handle shape indicated the greatest strength with D shape and the least with A shape. From the regression analysis of hand anthropometric indices, the value of R was respectably high at 0.608-0.696. The current study examined the gender and handle shape factors affecting grip strength based on the force measurements from various handle types, in terms of influence on different hand anthropometric indices.

Task-specific stability of abundant systems: Structure of variance and motor equivalence

Our main goal was to test a hypothesis that transient changes in performance of a steady-state task would result in motor equivalence. We also estimated effects of visual feedback on the amount of reorganization of motor elements. Healthy subjects performed two variations of a four-finger pressing task requiring accurate production of total pressing force (F TOT) and total moment of force (M TOT). In the Jumping-Target task, a sequence of target jumps required transient changes in either F TOT or M TOT. In the Step-Perturbation task, the index finger was lifted by 1cm for 0.5s leading to a change in both F TOT and M TOT. Visual feedback could have been frozen for one of these two variables in both tasks. Deviations in the space of finger modes (hypothetical commands to individual fingers) were quantified in directions of unchanged F TOT and M TOT (motor equivalent - ME) and in directions that changed F TOT and M TOT (non-motor equivalence - nME). Both the ME and nME components increased when the performance changed. After transient target jumps leading to the same combination of F TOT and M TOT, the changes in finger modes had a large residual ME component with only a very small nME component. Without visual feedback, an increase in the nME component was observed without consistent changes in the ME component. Results from the Step-Perturbation task were qualitatively similar. These findings suggest that both external perturbations and purposeful changes in performance trigger a reorganization of elements of an abundant system, leading to large ME change. These results are consistent with the principle of motor abundance corroborating the idea that a family of solutions is facilitated to stabilize values of important performance variables.