Volition following hemiplegia

Abstract

Following a minimum period of 11 weeks after cerebrovascular accident and resulting hemiplegia, 100 adult patients were assessed, over a period of 3 years, for sensory-motor deficits affecting the function of the paralyzed upper extremity. This paper presents only the assessment of voluntary control, the disturbances of voluntary motion, and the interrelationship between the components of voluntary motion and other clinical manifestations. Kendall rank order correlations were computed for this purpose. In the voluntary control of gross arm motions, forearm supination and spontaneity of arm usage appeared to be most significant in predicting the presence of other synergistic components. The isolated muscle function revealed during execution of functional tasks showed the ability to grasp an object as the least affected task and dropping a coin in a slot as the most difficult. Inability to perform voluntary motion was primarily related to the limitation of active and passive motion of the shoulders, elbow, wrist, and hand.