Investigation of The Effects of Proprioceptive Exercise Training on Motor Performance Parameters in Healthy Adults

Overview

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of two different exercise protocols applied to healthy individuals on motor performance parameters. Forty-one healthy participants were included in the study. Participants were divided into 2 groups (wrist proprioceptive exercise group, general exercise group) and attended exercise training targeting the hand and wrist for a total of 6 weeks. Before and after the exercises, sociodemographic evaluation, Quick Disability of Arm Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, pain assessment, grip strength measurement, weight transfer tolerance test, wrist joint position sense, Nelson hand reaction test, upper extremity Y balance test, lateral grip and tripod grip measurements, manual muscle testing, and surface electromyography analysis were evaluated in both groups.

Healthy volunteers who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study upon agreement to participate. The participants were divided into two groups. One group received 6 weeks of general upper extremity exercises along with proprioceptive exercise training. The proprioceptive exercise training consisted of a 10-minute warm-up period including active and passive upper extremity exercises followed by 30 minutes of proprioceptive exercises. The exercise program progressed weekly, and exercises were performed in standardized positions. To ensure adherence to the exercises, they were recorded on video and sent to participants' phones. The second group performed general upper extremity exercises for 6 weeks. The reason for creating the second group was to eliminate the time-dependent effect of changes in electromyographic activation levels of muscles. Additionally, the bilateral effects of unilateral upper extremity exercise training are observed. Comparing the electromyographic activities of untrained healthy individuals at the end of the treatment may enhance the quality of data interpretation. However, other factors that increase the risk of error in evaluating distal motor performance of the upper extremity were also considered in our study. It is expected that the motor performance of the dominant side will be greater than that of the non-dominant side. However, the non-dominant side is more frequently used in daily activities, resulting in a higher frequency and intensity of daily life activities being loaded onto the dominant side. To reduce the potential error resulting from daily life activities, exercise training was given to the non-dominant side of the healthy individuals participating in our study. Detailed evaluations were performed on the individuals participating in the study, as described below. Evaluations were conducted twice, before starting the exercise program and after the 6-week exercise program.