The functional repertoire of the hand and its application to assessment.
Functional assessment of the hand typically involves evaluation of proficiency using a test battery rather than identifying the range of hand skills available to a client. Establishing a clients hand function by reference to the movement repertoire of his or her fully-functioning hand offers numerous benefits for clinicians and researchers. A functional repertoire model of the hand is proposed as a framework for guiding assessment and therapy. The model identifies four main components relating to hand function: personal constraints, hand roles, hand actions, and task parameters. The model provides a common language for assessment, program development, and research across populations. Application here is to hand-injured clients, but the framework is equally valuable for hand function assessment of developmentally and physically challenged individuals, persons with neuromuscular disorders, or geriatric populations.
Kimmerle
Marliese
M
Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada. kimmerl@uwindsor.ca
Mainwaring
Lynda
L
Borenstein
Marlene
M
D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology*; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D010808:Physical Examination; D012016:Reference Values