[Purpose] The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in reaching function during
a reaching task in cervical spondylosis (CS) patients before and after surgery.
[Participants and Methods] Nine patients participated in the study. Wrist acceleration
peaks were monitored pre- and postoperatively using a tri-axial accelerometer, and the
Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was recorded preoperatively. Additional upper
extremity function tests were performed pre- and postoperatively. Multiple stepwise
regression analysis was used to investigate the contribution of wrist acceleration peak to
the severity of clinical symptoms. Moreover, we compared the acceleration peaks produced
during the reaching task before and after surgery. [Results] Multiple regression analysis
showed that wrist acceleration peak, grip strength and pinch strength were associated with
the upper extremity function of the JOA score, explaining 61.0% of the variance. There was
a significant improvement in x-axis acceleration peak after surgery. [Conclusion] Our
results suggested that quantitative assessments of reaching function are useful to
objectively evaluate the changes in reaching function in patients undergoing cervical
decompression surgery.
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