Article

OBJECTIVE: To describe and evaluate the effects of a new home-based sensory
re-education training tool on hand sensibility and manual dexterity in people
with MS experiencing upper limb sensory deficits. METHODS: Twenty-five people
with relapsing-remitting MS (18 women), mean age 50.6 years (SD = 11.4),
volunteered to participate. Participants were initially assigned to a 7-week
control phase followed by a 3-week home-based sensory re-education phase.
Measurements used were the nine-hole peg test, the two point discrimination test,
the monofilaments test and the functional dexterity test. Measurements were
collected at baseline, following the control phase and at the end of the trial.
RESULTS: Participants demonstrated an improvement in the nine-hole peg (26.8 (SD
= 3.5) vs. 22.6 (SD = 3.2); mean difference (95% CI) 4.9 (0.9, 7.1), P = 0.03)
and functional dexterity tests (38.6 (SD = 4.4) vs. 33.8 (SD = 4.9); mean
difference (95% CI) 4.8 (1.8, 7.0); P = 0.02) at the end of the sensory
re-education phase compared to the end of the control phase. No differences were
observed as to the monofilaments and two-point discrimination tests. CONCLUSIONS:
Sensory re-education training does not affect the level of sensory impairment in
the hand but may lead to improvement in select measures of manual dexterity.

Langue : ANGLAIS