• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.7-12
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• 2011

Purpose: The cane is one of the most popular assistive devices for stroke patients. Clinical complaints of sensorimotor functions on the ipsilateral upper limb were appealed in stroke patients who had used a cane for a long period. Therefore, we investigated whether cane usage for a long-term period affected sensoriomotor dysfunctions on the non-affected upper limb, in terms of pain presence, shoulder joint sense, a nine-hole pegboard test, and a tracking task. Methods: We recruited 12 stroke patients, who were divided into the cane-using (CU) group or the non-cane using (NCU) group, according to cane usage experience. We evaluated joint position sense for the integrity of proprioceptive reposition sense in the shoulder joint, used a nine-hole pegboard test for upper limb dexterity evaluation, and a tracking task for visuomotor coordination. Results: Four patients in the CU group had complained of shoulder pain none did in the NCU group. In addition, the CU group showed more reposition errors on the shoulder joint than the NCU group did. In addition, the CU group had more difficulty in proprioceptive sense perception and in performance of the nine-hole pegboard teat and tracking task, compared with the NCU group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that cane usage for a long period in stroke patients could give rise to trigger joint pain and decrease proprioceptive sense. In addition, complex motor performance in the ipsilateral upper limb could deteriorate. In stroke patients who had used acane for long period, careful observation and proper intervention will be necessary.