Correlations Between Motor and Sensory Functions in Upper Limb Chronic Hemiparetics After Stroke

Objective: Describe the somatosensory function of the affected upper limb of hemiparetic stroke patients and investigate the correlations between measurements of motor and sensory functions in tasks with and without visual deprivation.

Method: We applied the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Nottingham Sensory Assessment (NSA), and several motor and sensory tests: Paper manipulation (PM), Motor Sequences (MS), Reaching and grasping (RG) Tests Functional (TF), Tactile Discrimination (TD), Weight Discrimination (WD) and Tactile Recognition of Objects (RO).

Results: We found moderate correlations between the FMA motor subscale and the tactile sensation score of the NSA. Additionally, the FMA sensitivity was correlated with the NSA total; and performance on the WD test items correlated with the NSA.

Conclusion: There was a correlation between the sensory and motor functions of the upper limb in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients. Additionally, there was a greater reliance on visual information to compensate for lost sensory-motor skills.