Compensatory Trunk Movements in Naturalistic Reaching and Manipulation Tasks in Chronic Stroke Survivors

Area of Science:

• Neurorehabilitation
• Biomechanics
• Motor Control

Background:

• Post-stroke arm impairment frequently leads to compensatory trunk movements.
• Previous research primarily examined these compensations under controlled laboratory conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify compensatory trunk and elbow movements during naturalistic reaching and manipulation tasks in chronic stroke survivors.
• To compare compensatory movement patterns between paretic and nonparetic arm use.
• To differentiate compensation strategies between reaching and manipulation tasks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized motion capture technology to collect kinematic data on trunk and elbow movements.
• Assessed compensatory movements in 9 chronic stroke survivors and 20 neurologically unimpaired controls.
• Analyzed continuous reaching and manipulation tasks performed with affected and unaffected arms.

Main Results:

• Significantly greater trunk displacement and rotation were observed when using the paretic arm compared to the nonparetic arm (P = .03).
• Elbow angular displacement was significantly lower when using the paretic arm versus the nonparetic arm (P = .01).
• Reaching tasks elicited greater trunk compensation and elbow movement than manipulation tasks.

Conclusions:

• Stroke survivors exhibit increased reliance on compensatory trunk movements during functional, everyday tasks.
• These findings suggest that trunk compensatory movements are a relevant target for stroke rehabilitation programs.
• This study offers a novel perspective by investigating compensatory movements in naturalistic settings.