A wrist extension operated lateral key grip orthosis for people with tetraplegia

Abstract

A new tenodesis orthosis is described for assisting people who have a cervical spinal injury resulting in reduced grasp function. The orthosis utilises wrist extension to produce a lateral key grip between the thumb and proximal or middle phalanx of the index finger. An assessment tool was developed to measure functionality using ADL tasks and a Preston pinch meter was used to measure grip strength. After 6-weeks training, use of the orthosis increased lateral key grip on average by 3 times and the number of tasks achieved increased from 6 to 11 out of the 13 tasks measured. The learning effect from the training protocol was significant (P = 0.04) and use of the orthosis reinforced the movement pattern required to achieve a standard tenodesis grasp