Sensing hand position in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the effect of joint hypermobility on acuity, and precision, of hand proprioception.

Materials and methods: We compared proprioceptive acuity, and precision, between EDS patients and controls. We then measured any changes in their estimates of hand position after participants adapted their reaches in response to altered visual feedback of their hand. The Beighton Scale was used to quantify the magnitude of joint hypermobility.

Results: There were no differences between the groups in the accuracy of estimates of hand location, nor in the visually induced changes in hand location. However, EDS patients' estimates were less precise when based purely on proprioception and could be partially predicted by Beighton score.

Conclusions: EDS patients are less precise at estimating their hand's location when only afferent information is available, but the presence of efferent signalling may reduce this imprecision. Those who are more hypermobile are more likely to be imprecise.

Keywords: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome; hypermobility; proprioception.