Upper extremity motor function and hand muscular power in patients with stroke: A pilot study

Stroke is one of the most important neurological diseases that annually causes death and long-term disability in patients in the world. The incidence of motor impairment in the upper extremity and hand as a result of stroke as compared to the lower extremity are more prevalent and less recovery. This pilot study was performed to Investigate of upper extremity and hand muscular power in patients with stroke.
In a descriptive-analytical study, 36 patients with stroke were investigated, in internal medicine ward of Kowsar hospital in Semnan. Sampling method was easy, available, and purposeful. In the study, the section of upper extremity and hand assessment of Fugl-Meyer scale were used to measure the upper extremity motor function and also hand dynamometer were used to measure hand muscular power.
In this study, the mean score of affected upper extremity motor function in stroke patients was 8.2±8.73, mean score of affected hand motor function was 5.3±5.6, and mean of affected hand muscular power was 2.64±3.8. No significant relationship between demographic variables and affected upper extremity, hand motor function score and affected hand grip power of subjects were observed.
The results of the study showed that upper extremity motor function and hand muscular power in patients with stroke was reduced considerably. Due to the high prevalence of this motor impairment after stroke and its consequences, health care personnel should design appropriate care and rehabilitation programs to more control these damages.