Early Sensory Re-education of the Hand With a Sensor Glove Model

Cortical and Functional Responses to an Early Protocol of Sensory Re-education of the Hand Using Audio-tactile Interaction

The implementation of early sensory re-education (SR) techniques, aimed to preserve the cortical hand area, such as the use of audio-tactile interaction, becomes an important strategy to obtain also a better sensory function. The aim of this study was to investigate sensory function outcomes (threshold monofilaments, two-point discrimination test, STI and DASH) and cortical responses (fMRI) in patients submitted to an early protocol of SR of the hand with a sensor glove model. After surgical repair of median and/or ulnar nerves, 17 participants were divided into two groups: the training group, trained on the protocol with the sensor glove model, and the control group, untrained. After six-month follow-up, no difference was observed between groups, related to sensory function, especially tactile gnosis. Despite this, the early training with this sensor glove model seems to provide some type of cortical audio-tactile interaction, contributing to previous studies that focus in early SR of the hand using the integration of different sensory modalities.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Injury of the ulnar and/or median nerves at the wrist or distal forearm level surgically repaired

Exclusion Criteria:

• Neurological diseases
• Systemic diseases, which affected either directly or indirectly the central or peripheral nervous system
• Extensive traumas in the upper limbs