Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Measurement of Spatial Stability in Precision Grip
Published on: June 4, 2020
Support-specific modulation of grip force in individuals with hemiparesis
1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Illinois, Chicago 60612, USA. aaruin@uic.edu
Objective:
To investigate whether use of auxiliary sensory input will result in modulated grip force.
Design:
Case-control study.
Setting:
Free-standing acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital.
Participants:
Six people with unilateral hemiparesis due to unilateral stroke and 6 control subjects without neurologic disorders.
Interventions:
Seated subjects lifted and transported the same object under 3 different conditions: with no support, with the target arm positioned on a freely moving skateboard, and with a finger from the subject's contralateral hand lightly touching the wrist of the target arm.
Main Outcome Measures:
Peak grip force and temporal coupling between the grip force and lift-off of the object.
Results:
All subjects were able to better regulate grip force when provided with additional sensory input. Light finger touch resulted in decreased grip force, as did skateboard use ( P <.05). Subjects with hemiparesis showed 2 times longer latency between grip-force application and lift-off of the object ( P <.05).
Conclusions:
Statistically significant grip-force reduction was noted with both support aids. These findings could have implications in clinical and rehabilitative areas.
