Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 78, Issue 8 , Pages 847-852, August 1997

Speed of finger tapping and goal attainment after unilateral cerebral vascular accident☆☆☆

  • George P. Prigatano, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to George P. Prigatano, PhD, Neuroscience Publications, Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 West Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013-4496.
    • ,
  • Jane L. Wong, PhD

Division of Neurology, Section of Neuropsychology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Received 12 August 1996; accepted 5 December 1996.

Article Outline

Abstract 

Objective: To determine (1) if speed of finger tapping is bilaterally slow after an acute unilateral cerebral vascular accident (CVA) and (2) if speed of finger tapping and grip strength are related to achieving rehabilitation goals during the first few weeks after stroke.

Design: Prospective inception cohort study.

Study Setting: Medical center and neurological institute.

Participants: Fifty-one patients with unilateral CVAs.

Main Outcome Measures: Documentation of goal attainment at discharge and bilateral measures of speed of finger tapping and grip strength.

Results: Speed of finger tapping and grip strength were often bilaterally below normal limits after an acute unilateral CVA, with the contralateral hand most affected. Speed of finger tapping, but not grip strength, in the ipsilateral hand was associated with achieving rehabilitation goals. Speed of finger tapping in the contralateral hand as well as bilateral grip strength was not related to achievement of rehabilitation goals.

Conclusions: Motor findings suggest that bilateral cerebral dysfunction may be common after an acute unilateral CVA. The speed of finger movement in the hand ipsilateral to the lesion may reflect the degree to which the so-called “unaffected” cerebral hemisphere has in fact maintained its functional integrity. As such, it may be a useful behavioral marker for predicting goal attainment during early stages of neurorehabilitation.

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☆ Supported by a grant from the BNI Foundation through Robert F. Spetzler, MD, and the Clinical Research Fund of the Section of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ.

☆☆ No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(97)90198-2

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 78, Issue 8 , Pages 847-852, August 1997

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