A preliminary study on the relationship between proprioceptive deficits and motor functions in chronic stroke patients

Although motor and sensory impairments of the upper limb after stroke have been widely studied, the relationship between sensory deficits and motor functions has been less thoroughly explored. In this ongoing study, we investigated the relationship between proprioceptive impairments and motor functions with 20 chronic stroke survivors. Their proprioceptive abilities were assessed with a passive joint position matching test using H-Man and their motor functions were assessed with ARAT (Action Research Arm Test) and FMA (Fugl Meyer Upper Extremity Assessment) clinical scores. The assessments were conducted before, during and after the therapy. Results indicated a significant difference between the proprioceptive outcomes of healthy and stroke participants (at baseline) in both matching accuracy (absolute error, p=0.02) and precision (variability of the signed error, p=0.03). Significant correlations were found between the proprioceptive assessment outcomes (assessed before the beginning of the motor rehabilitation) of stroke participants with impaired proprioception and their ARAT clinical scores assessed at the first follow-up (week 12) (rho =- 0.74 and p=0.047 for the absolute error; rho =-0.78 and p= 0.03 for the variability of the signed error). The results from this preliminary study indicated a significant relationship between proprioceptive impairments and motor function performances in proprioceptively impaired chronic stroke participants.