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. 2022 Aug 24;74(4):387-395.
doi: 10.3138/ptc-2021-0025. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Clinical Motor Coordination Tests in Adult Neurology: A Scoping Review

Elka Schwartz  1   2 , Kathryn Guidry  1   2 , Amanda Lee  1   2 , Danny Dinh  1   2 , Mindy F Levin  1   2 , Marika Demers  2
Affiliations

Clinical Motor Coordination Tests in Adult Neurology: A Scoping Review

Elka Schwartz et al. Physiother Can. .

Abstract
in English, French

Purpose: This scoping review aimed to identify which clinical tests are used to assess upper limb, lower limb, and trunk motor coordination, and their metric and measurement properties for adult neurological populations. Method: MEDLINE (1946-) and EMBASE (1996-) databases were searched using keywords such as movement quality, motor performance, motor coordination, assessment, and psychometrics. Data regarding the body part assessed, neurological condition, psychometric properties, and scored metrics of spatial and/or temporal coordination were independently extracted by two reviewers. Alternate versions of some tests such as the Finger-to-Nose Test were included. Results: Fifty-one included articles yielded 2 tests measuring spatial coordination, 7 tests measuring temporal coordination, and 10 tests measuring both. Scoring metrics and measurement properties differed between tests, with a majority of tests having good-to-excellent measurement properties. Conclusions: The metrics of motor coordination scored by current tests vary. Since tests do not assess functional task performance, the onus falls on clinicians to infer the connection between coordination impairments and functional deficits. Clinical practice would benefit from the development of a battery of tests that assesses the metrics of coordination related to functional performance.

Objectif : la présente revue exploratoire visait à déterminer quels tests cliniques sont utilisés pour évaluer la coordination motrice des membres supérieurs, des membres inférieurs et du tronc, ainsi que pour déterminer leurs propriétés métriques et de mesures dans les populations d’adultes ayant des troubles neurologiques. Méthodologie : les chercheurs ont fouillé les bases de données de MEDLINE (1946–) et d’EMBASE (1996–) au moyen de mots-clés comme movement quality, motor performance, motor coordination, assessment et psychometrics. Deux analystes indépendants ont extrait les données relatives aux parties du corps évaluées, à l’affection neurologique, aux propriétés psychométriques et aux mesures de coordination spatiale ou temporelle calculées. D’autres versions de certains tests, comme l’épreuve doigt-nez, ont été incluses. Résultats : au total, les 51 articles retenus incluaient deux tests qui mesuraient la coordination spatiale, sept tests qui mesuraient la coordination temporelle et dix qui mesuraient ces deux types de coordination. Les mesures calculées et les propriétés de mesure différaient entre les tests, mais les propriétés de la majorité d’entre elles étaient bonnes à excellentes. Conclusions : les mesures de coordination motrice calculées par les tests actuels varient. Puisque les tests n’évaluent pas la performance des tâches fonctionnelles, il revient aux cliniciens d’extrapoler les liens entre les déficits de coordination et les déficits fonctionnels. La création d’une batterie de tests pour évaluer les mesures de coordination liées à la performance fonctionnelle serait bénéfique en pratique clinique.

Keywords: motor skills disorders; neurology; patient outcome assessment.

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