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Handgrip Strength Related to Long-Term Electromyography: Application for Assessing Functional Decline in Parkinson
Gareth R Jones1, Kaitlyn P Roland2, Noelannah A Neubauer3
1School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Objective:
To determine which clinical measures of physical function (ie, gait, balance, and grip strength) best represent long-term electromyography in persons with Parkinson disease (PD) compared with those without PD.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Local community.
Participants:
A sample (N=37) of men and women with PD (n=23) and those without PD (n=14), living independently at home, older than 50 years of age, from the local community.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Measures of gait, balance, and grip strength were completed, and electromyography was examined in biceps brachii, triceps brachii, vastus lateralis, and biceps femoris during a 6.5-hour day. Muscle activity was quantified through burst in electromyography (>2% of the normalized maximum voluntary exertion with a continuous activity period of >0.1s). Stepwise multiple regression models were used to determine the proportion of variance in burst characteristics explained by clinical measures of physical function in PD.
Results:
Grip strength was the best predictor of muscle activity in persons with PD (R2=.17-.33; P<.04), whereas gait characteristics explained muscle activity in healthy controls (R2=.40-.82; P<.04).
Conclusions:
Grip strength could serve as an effective clinical assessment tool to determine changes in muscle activity, which is a precursor to functional loss in persons with PD.
