Bilateral Sensorimotor Abnormalities in Unilateral Lateral Epicondylalgia

Identifying markers were placed on the participant’s lateral epicondyle, lateral ulnar styloid process, and the lateral base of the fifth metacarpal. Relative wrist angle (in degrees) in the sagittal plane during a gripping task was measured using a digital image and specialized software.

Sensorimotor measures of upper-limb reaction time and speed of movement were tested using the sensorimotor interface hand module of the Basic Elements of Performance^c system.

Mean grip force and 95% CIs for lateral epicondylalgia (♦, men; ●, women) and control (grey horizontal bands) groups by sex. The mean for women controls was 182 (95% CI, 151–213) and men controls 278 (95% CI, 253–303), respectively. Black data points represent the affected side and the white data points represent the unaffected side.

Measures of motor performance derived from the Basic Elements of Performance device. Triangle data points are mean (with 95% CI) reaction time measures (primary axis) and square data points are mean (with 95% CI) speed of movement (secondary axis) measures. Black data points are lateral epicondylalgia group and white hatched points are the control group. All data are averaged between sides as there was no significant effect of side, except for SOM2 in the control group, which differed significantly between sexes in the control group: the large white square data point is the control men and the small white square data point is the control women.