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NEUROLOGY 2006;67:2022-2027
© 2006 American Academy of Neurology

Dynamometry of intrinsic hand muscles in patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease

R. W. Selles, PhD, B.T.J. van Ginneken, MSc, T. A.R. Schreuders, PT, PhD, W. G.M. Janssen, MD and H. J. Stam, MD, PhD, FRCP

From the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC–University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Selles, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC–University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rm. h.016, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands; e-mail: r.selles{at}erasmusmc.nl

Background: Several problems are associated with manual muscle testing and dynamometry in the hands of patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) disease.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer (RIHM) to directly measure intrinsic hand muscle strength in CMT disease.

Methods: We measured hand muscle strength and hand function in 41 patients with CMT disease.

Results: RIHM measurement of intrinsic strength had excellent reliability. We found overlapping RIHM strength values in Medical Research Council grades 3 to 5. High grip and pinch strength could be found in patients with severe intrinsic muscle weakness. RIHM measurements were more strongly correlated with fine motor skills of the hand than grip and pinch strength.

Conclusions: The Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer is a reliable instrument to measure intrinsic hand muscles strength in patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, providing more detailed information than manual muscle testing and a more direct assessment of intrinsic muscle loss than grip and pinch dynamometers.

Additional material related to this article can be found on the Neurology Web site. Go to www.neurology.org and scroll down the Table of Contents for the December 12 issue to find the title link for this article.

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received December 9, 2005. Accepted in final form August 24, 2006.




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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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