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Updated: May 13, 2025
Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
Biomechanical analysis of upper limb of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in chosen functional tasks: A
Agnieszka Sobierajska-Rek1, Wiktoria Wojnicz2, Bartłomiej Zagrodny3
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences with Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
Background:
The main symptom of Duchenne muscular dystrophy is progressive wasting of muscle tissue. Current research on motor measurements for these patients lacks assessments of the whole trajectories of the functional motions over time in clinical conditions. The main goal of this study was to compare the upper limb movement strategy of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a healthy Control by assessing the contributions of chosen joint angles and contributions of muscles activity in the functional motions of activities of daily living.
Method:
A novel score of kinematic and electromyographic patterns is proposed, and results are assessed for a whole trajectory of tested upper limb for five patients and a healthy Control. Contributions of four joint angles and four surface muscle activities are assessed for two relations - kinematic control (a relation between muscle activity and displacement of the wrist) and dynamic control (a relation between muscle activity and displacement of the center of mass of the upper limb).
Findings:
In vertical motions, higher mobility in the shoulder and elbow was observed in patients with lower Brooke scores. In motions involving horizontal movement of a weight, the contribution of the elbow and the trapezius were higher in all patients vs the Control.
Interpretation:
The proposed method revealed significant differences in muscle activity and upper limb movement patterns in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy compared with a healthy Control. Results of the assessment of contributions in kinematic control and dynamic control show individual movement strategies of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
