title: Dexterity training improves manual precision in patients affected by essential tremor.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of a short-term dexterity-training program on muscle tremor and the performance of hand precision tasks in patients with essential tremor (ET).
  
  
  METHODS
  Three testing sessions: baseline, after 4 weeks without any interventions (control), and after 4 weeks of dexterity-training carried out 3 times per week.
  
  
  METHODS
  Biomechanics research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients (N=8) with a diagnosis of ET.
  
  
  METHODS
  Training program consisted of 12 dexterity training sessions where each session comprised 4 tasks involving both goal-directed manual movements and hand postural exercises.
  
  
  METHODS
  Testing included an ET-specific quality of life questionnaire and postural and kinetic tremor assessments. Each training session was scored to evaluate the performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After training, improvements were observed in the performance of the 2 goal-directed tasks (P<.01); however, postural and kinetic tremor did not change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that dexterity training could be effective in increasing fine manual control during goal-directed movements, which are known to be the most compromised in this pathology. The absence of a decrease in tremor severity highlights the necessity for developing this novel training technique further, perhaps over a longer period of time. This study could provide guidelines for the prescription of self-directed and personalized home-based exercises and will offer clinicians a treatment that might be used as an adjuvant or an alternative to the classical pharmacotherapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Dublin. Electronic address: francesco.budini@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Budini
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin.
authors.forename: Madeleine M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lowery
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Clarity Centre for Sensor Web Technologies, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Dublin.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Vito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Essential tremor; Rehabilitation