Browsing by Person "Van Hedel, Hubertus J."

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Are tactile function and body awareness of the foot related to motor outcomes in children with upper motor neuron lesions?
(Frontiers Media, 2024-03-01) Marsico, Petra; Lea Meier; van der Linden, Marietta; Mercer, Tom; Van Hedel, Hubertus J.
Introduction: Somatosensory function can be reduced in children with Upper Motor Neuron (UMN) lesions. Therefore, we investigated relationships between somatosensory functions of the foot and motor outcomes in children with UMN lesions.In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the Tactile Threshold (TT) with monofilaments and body awareness with Tactile Localisation Tasks for spatial-related action (TLTaction) and structural-related perception (TLTperception) body representation at the foot sole. Furthermore, we assessed four motor outcomes: the Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE), the modified Timed Up and Go test (mTUG), the Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ), and the Functional Mobility Scale (FMS). Spearman's correlations (ρ) were applied to assess relationships between the somatosensory function of the foot sole and the applied motor outcomes.Results: Thirty-five children with UMN lesions, on average 11.7 ± 3.4 years old, participated. TLTperception correlated significantly with all lower limb motor outcomes p<0.05),. TLTperception correlated strongly with the Gross Motor Function Classification System (|ρ|=0.62; p=0.001) in children with cerebral palsy (n=24).Discussion: Assessing structural body representation of the foot sole should be considered when addressing lower limb motor impairments, including gait, in children with upper motor neuron lesions. Our results suggest that the assessment of tactile function and spatial body representation may be less related to lower limb motor function.
Assessing Proprioception in Children with Upper Motor Neuron Lesions: Feasibility, validity, and reliability of the Proprioception Measurement Tool (ProMeTo)
(Frontiers Media, 2024-08-09) Marsico, Petra; Meier, Lea; Buchmann, Anke; Kläy, Andrina; van der Linden, Marietta; Mercer, Tom; Van Hedel, Hubertus J.
Introduction: To investigate the feasibility, discriminative and convergent validity, and reliability of a lower limb sensor-based proprioception measure in children with upper motor neuron (UMN) lesions. Method: We assessed three proprioception modalities (joint movement, joint position, and dynamic position sense) of the lower limbs in 49 children with UMN lesions and 50 typically developing (TD) peers (5-19y). Forty-three children with UMN lesion had a congenital and six an acquired brain lesion and 82% are able to walk without a walking aid. We evaluated the feasibility, compared the test results between children with UMN lesions and TD peers, and calculated Spearman correlations (rs) between the modalities. We quantified relative reliability with Intra-Class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and absolute reliability with Smallest Detectable Changes (SDC). Results: Most children with UMN lesions (>88%) found the tests easy to perform. The children with UMN lesions had significantly (p<0.001) lower proprioceptive function than the TD children. The correlation between the three proprioceptive modalities was moderate to high (0.50 ≤ rs ≤ 0.79). The relative reliability for test-retest and the inter-rater reliability was moderate to high (ICCs=0.65-0.97), and SDC between 2° and 15°. Discussion: The three tests are feasible, and discriminative and convergent validity and reliability were confirmed. Further studies should investigate the influence on motor function and performance in children with UMN lesions.