Practicing a functional task improves steadiness with hand muscles in older adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Motor Control
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Improvements in motor steadiness correlate with better functional task performance in older adults.
• Understanding the specificity of this association is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between hand steadiness and functional task performance in older adults.
• To determine if practicing a functional task enhances hand muscle force steadiness.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-three older adults (≥70 years) were divided into a practice group (n=15) and a control group (n=8).
• Assessments included maximal voluntary contractions (MVC), force steadiness (precision pinch, index finger abduction) at 5%, 15%, and 25% MVC, and the Grooved Pegboard test.
• Interventions involved six practice sessions of the Grooved Pegboard task for the practice group over two weeks.

Main Results:

• Grooved Pegboard task completion time was associated with index finger abduction steadiness at 15% and 25% MVC, but not pinch steadiness.
• The practice group showed significant improvements in Grooved Pegboard task completion time.
• Practice also led to enhanced force steadiness in both precision pinch and index finger abduction tasks.

Conclusions:

• Force steadiness serves as a valid measure of hand function in older adults.
• Measuring force steadiness at lower force levels (e.g., 15-25% MVC) may be particularly informative for assessing hand function.