Forelimb posture has been a controversial aspect of reconstructing locomotor behaviour in extinct quadrupedal tetrapods. This is partly owing to the qualitative and subjective nature of typical methods, which focus on bony articulations that are often ambiguous and unvalidated postural indicators. Here we outline a new, quantitatively based forelimb posture index that is applicable to a majorit...

tunnel syndrome, the second most common compression neuropathy of the upper extremity. Patients often present with pain, paresthesias and/or weakness that if left untreated may lead to significant disability. This article reviews the etiology, diagnosis and management of cubital tunnel syndrome. The ulnar nerve originates from branches of the C8 and T1 spinal nerve roots and is the terminal bra...

The authors compared the force and time endpoint accuracy of goal-directed ipsilateral upper and lower limb isometric contractions and determined the components of motor performance that can be transferred from 1 limb to the other after practice. Ten young adults (27.4 +/- 4.4 years) performed 100 trials that involved their matching peak force to a force-time target with ankle dorsiflexor and e...

BACKGROUND OnabotulinumtoxinA has demonstrated significant benefit in adult focal spasticity. This study reviews the injection patterns (i.e., muscle distribution, dosing) of onabotulinumtoxinA for treatment of adult spasticity, as reported in published studies. METHODS A systematic review of clinical trials and observational studies published between 1990 and 2011 reporting data on muscles i...

OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of using a novel form of multichannel electrical stimulation, termed Sensory Barrage Stimulation (SBS) for the treatment of spasticity affecting the elbow flexor muscles and to compare this with conventional single-channel TENS stimulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Altogether ten participants with spasticity of the flexor muscles of the elbow of Grade 2 or abo...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze the intraobserver reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) in the assessment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS Elbow flexor muscles, wrist flexor muscles, hip adductors, hamstrings, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of 37 children (mean age: 8.97±4.41) with spastic CP were evaluate...

It has been proposed that ipsilateral motor pathways play a role in the control of ipsilateral movements and recovery of function after injury. However, the extent to which ipsilateral motor pathways are engaged in voluntary activity in intact humans remains largely unknown. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation over the arm representation of the primary motor cortex, we examined ipsilateral ...

[Purpose] This research investigated the effect of angular variation of flexion of the elbow joint on the muscle activation of elbow flexor muscles. [Subjects] The research subjects were 24 male college students with a dominant right hand who had no surgical or neurological disorders and gave their prior written consent to participation with full knowledge of the method and purpose of this stud...