title: Quantification of functional hand grip using electromyography and inertial sensor-derived accelerations: clinical implications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessing hand injury is of great interest given the level of involvement of the hand with the environment. Knowing different assessment systems and their limitations generates new perspectives. The integration of digital systems (accelerometry and electromyography) as a tool to supplement functional assessment allows the clinician to know more about the motor component and its relation to movement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was the kinematic and electromyography analysis during functional hand movements.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten subjects carried out six functional movements (terminal pinch, termino-lateral pinch, tripod pinch, power grip, extension grip and ball grip). Muscle activity (hand and forearm) was measured in real time using electromyograms, acquired with the Mega ME 6000, whilst acceleration was measured using the AcceleGlove.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Electrical activity and acceleration variables were recorded simultaneously during the carrying out of the functional movements. The acceleration outcome variables were the modular vectors of each finger of the hand and the palm. In the electromyography, the main variables were normalized by the mean and by the maximum muscle activity of the thenar region, hypothenar, first interosseous dorsal, wrist flexors, carpal flexors and wrist extensors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowing muscle behavior allows the clinician to take a more direct approach in the treatment. Based on the results, the tripod grip shows greater kinetic activity and the middle finger is the most relevant in this regard. Ball grip involves most muscle activity, with the thenar region playing a fundamental role in hand activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relating muscle activation, movements, individual load and displacement offers the possibility to proceed with rehabilitation by individual component.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin-Martin
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psiquiatría y Fisioterapia, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Malaga, Andalucia Tech, Instituto de Biomedicina de Malaga (IBIMA), Grupo de Clinimetria (AE-14), Malaga, Spain. acuesta.var@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Antonio I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Cuesta-Vargas
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult