Impact of a gripping aid on hand kinematics and motor skills in healthy volunteers

The objective of our study was to study the impact of a gripping aid on the kinematics and the functional motor capacities of the hand, in healthy subjects. Our hypothesis was that this spherical device could stabilize the first commissure of the hand and induce kinematic changes. A sample of 19 healthy subjects performed, with and without the grip aid (Gripoball®) a series of drawing and writing. The feasibility of analysing the impact of a grip aid on functional tasks was shown. As expected, the Gripoball® gripping aid system had little impact on the kinematics and functional motor capabilities of the hand, in the healthy subject. Other studies are necessary to generalize our results to clinical situations.